Saint Louis tops Punahou

Saint Louis pitcher Jordan Yamamoto felt pretty good heading into his start against Punahou on Friday.

He felt even better when he found out Iolana Akau would be back behind the plate for the Crusaders.

With Akau in the lineup for the first time in the regular season, Yamamoto struck out 10 in the first complete game of his high school career, and the Crusaders held off the Buffanblu 3-1 in an ILH baseball game at Ala Wai Field.

"I was telling everybody from before I went out (in the seventh inning) I wanted to finish the game no matter what," Yamamoto said. "I wanted it badly."

He closed out the win after opening the seventh with a walk. He struck out the next two batters and ended the game by picking the runner off of first.

"He’s our No. 1 guy and he was able to get not only his fastball over early, but his breaking ball and his changeup, so he was able to keep them off balance," Saint Louis coach George Gusman said.

Yamamoto’s performance coincided with Akau’s return from a chipped bone in his thumb, an injury he suffered in a preseason game last month. Akau, who signed with the University of Hawaii, got the cast off on Wednesday and did some throwing in practice. After another day of rehab and practice, Akau told Gusman he was ready to play on Friday.

"It provides so much energy for us, it’s a different feel when he’s in there," Gusman said.

"Iolana and I talked a lot the last couple days, kept his parents in the loop and made sure we made the right decision for him. … He told me he was ready and when Yamamoto found out he was starting, that confidence level went up a whole lot."

Although not all the way back in form, Akau — rated among the nation’s top 100 high school prospects by Baseball America — was solid behind the plate and contributed an RBI single in the third inning.

"It just feels good to be back with the team," Akau said.

"I was a little nerve-wracked in the first inning but I got it going once I got my confidence back."

Punahou fell to 1-4 in ILH play and will face ‘Iolani today.

Punahou coach Kenny Harrison wasn’t in the dugout while he served a one-game suspension after being ejected in the Buffanblu’s previous game, but was on hand to watch.

"We’re close, we’re just not hitting right now," Harrison said.

Punahou threatened in the top of the third, putting runners on first and third with one out. But Saint Louis first baseman Kaimi Umebayashi snared a line drive and stepped on the bag for an inning-ending double play.

Saint Louis then broke through with a two-out rally in the bottom of the third when Jordan Mopas doubled to drive in a run and Akau followed with a single to center to score Mopas.

The Crusaders struck with two outs again in the fourth when Rayson Romero tripled down the right-field line to score Ryder Kuhns from first to make it 3-0.

Jake Fujimoto drove in Punahou’s run with an infield single in the fifth.