Punahou won one and Iolani won one on Thursday, but it was
the Raiders who won the most important one. 

     In the intense ILH baseball tournament, Iolani beat its
crosstown rival 3-1, only a few hours after Punahou edged Kamehameha 8-7 in
the completion of Wednesday night’s suspended game.  The Buffanblue took nine
total innings to win the first game and then had to get on a bus to travel
from the Ala Wai Field to Mid-Pacific.  Their bats seemed to have cooled off
on the bus for game number two. 

     Iolani pitchers Jon Okada and reliever Jarrett Arakawa
were masterful in holding Punahou to just one run.  That run was provided on
a homer to centerfield by Jeeter Ishida in the bottom of the 2nd inning. 

     Meanwhile, Punahou starter Reese Kiriu fashioned a
no-hitter until the 5th, but he was touched for two unearned runs in the 4th
when two walks and an error gave Iolani a 2-1 lead.

      The Buffanblue threatened in the bottom of the 6th
when they loaded the bases on singles by Jeeter, Paul Snieder and a walk. 
But Arakawa, the freshman left-hander who missed most of the season with a
shoulder injury, pitched out of a jam by inducing a double play groundball
to end the inning. 

     Then, in the 7th, the Raiders added insurance when a
single by Grant Liu, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single by Case Miyahira
made the score 3-1.  Arakawa pitched a 1-2-3 final inning and when Reyn
Nagamine squeezed a foul pop fly for the final out, Iolani fans erupted in
celebration. 

     Iolani moves on to the title game Monday night while
Punahou goes to the losers bracket on Saturday.  Monday’s potential
championship game is scheduled for Central Oahu Regional Park at 6:30pm.  An
Iolani win will set up a winner-take-all meeting with regular season champ
Punahou in a one-game playoff.  Iolani will get two chances to win the
tournament because they are the only undefeated team remaining in the
double-elimination format.

     And the drama continues…..