Corey Ishigo yearns for maturity from his Kailua Surfriders.

That’s why he doesn’t hesitate to call sophomore hurler Kahaku Iaea a veteran.

"He’s only a sophomore, but it’s like he’s been with us for years," Ishigo said after the right-hander filled in and delivered four strong innings in relief as the Surfriders rallied for a 6-3 win over Roosevelt under cloudy skies at Stevenson Middle School field.

Iaea had struggled with a sore shoulder recently, but showed no signs of it yesterday, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out one and walking none.

"Coach told me if anything goes wrong, I would go in," Iaea said. "I was actually excited. I’ve been waiting for a chance to pitch again."

Ryan McMonigle pitched the last two innings for the save.

It was a tough loss for Roosevelt (0-3), which got a gritty effort from sophomore pitcher Edison Sakata.

Kailua improved to 3-0 in Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East play despite a shaky start from Tyler Takata, who walked one and hit a batter in the first inning before Brandon Ikeda socked a two-run double to give the Rough Riders a 2-0 lead.

Iaea entered in the second inning.

"He threw strikes," Ishigo said.

After Roosevelt started tagging Iaea on first pitches, Ishigo and his staff called pitches.

"We started to mix it up. They got good guesses on him," Ishigo said.

Kailua tied it in the fourth. McMonigle doubled off Sakata and scored on a double by Kila Zuttermeister. After a throwing error, Zuttermeister advanced to third and came home on a bloop single by Eliia Davidann.

Kailua scored four times in the fifth frame to break open the game.

A bases-loaded, fielder’s choice grounder off the bat of Alika Ramseyer-Ho turned into a throwing error, allowing two runs to score. Another error and a sacrifice fly by Zuttermeister brought in the next two runs and Kailua led 6-2.