The third was the charm for the Mid-Pacific Owls.

After losing to Saint Louis twice in the first round—the latter game a tiebreaker win that gave the Crusaders a state-tournament berth—the Owls soared for a 9-5 win yesterday at Damon Field.

A boisterous crowd of about 300 squeezed into the premises to enjoy MPI's fifth win in a row. The Owls, who enjoyed a senior-night luau on the site after the game, are 5-1 in the second round, with Maryknoll and Pac-Five remaining on the schedule.

Saint Louis (24-4 overall, 6-1 league) plays Pac-West today. If both teams close the round with wins, they will meet in a tiebreaker game, as they did at the end of the first round, on Thursday for the second-round title.

“;We just hit the ball,”; MPI coach Dunn Muramaru said. “;We have to. On this field, no lead is safe.”;

Sparked by Jordan Obata's two-run double, MPI (20-6 overall) scored five runs in the first inning off Kalei Contrades and never trailed.

Kaeo Aliviado's two-run shot off MPI starter Lawrence Chew brought the visitors within 6-3 in the top of the third inning. Chew, who walked five in 2 1/3 innings, was replaced by Kelly Meguro.

Facing the Crusaders for the first time, Meguro allowed just one earned run on three hits in 4 1/3 innings to record the win.

“;Kelly threw strikes, kept the ball down and mixed speeds,”; Muramaru said of Meguro, a junior who pitched on the JV team last season.

It was a rough afternoon for the normally sure-handed Crusaders, who stayed within range thanks to superb relief pitching by Noa Siegfried. The 6-foot-3 lefty didn't allow an earned run in 4 2/3 innings, but MPI plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to five Saint Louis errors, including two by Siegfried.

With Meguro mixing a fastball, changeup and slider, the Crusaders didn't score again until the top of the seventh. Trying to make up a six-run deficit, they got a run-scoring single from Jordan Kahalekai-Bermoy, and an error in the outfield allowed another run to score on the play.

Marcus Doi entered and induced pinch hitter Dallas Tuumalo into a foul pop-up to end the game.

“;They played well. I give credit to Dunn and his staff,”; Saint Louis coach George Gusman said. “;There are some things we need to clean up. We just have to make the routine plays. (Siegfried) did well. Kalei wasn't as sharp as last time.”;

“;He comes in, got the fly out and the groundout to get out of the inning,”; Muramaru said of the third inning.

Though Meguro “;ran out of gas,”; Muramaru said, the right-hander's flexibility is a big plus for a team that doesn't have a set rotation.

“;I kind of like relieving better,”; said Meguro. “;I know the situation I'm coming into. I don't know why, but I'm more comfortable.”;