Joshua Souza and Ladd Ah Choy combined on a four-hitter, and Chance Arakaki crushed a three-run home run as No. 6 Kamehameha stunned No. 1 Mid-Pacific 5-2 at Damon Field. 

Kamehameha improved to 2-0 in ILH play (10-3 overall). The host Owls slipped to 1-1 in league play (15-2 overall). 

“They played well. Their pitchers threw strikes,” MPI coach Dunn Muramaru said. “They only walked two guys. Their pitchers did a good job.” 

Souza went 4 1/3 innings and permitted both MPI runs on four hits. He fanned two and walked two, mixing speeds and keeping the Owls off rhythm. 

“He had great control of his off-speed, his change-up and splicer,” Warriors coach Tom Perkins said. “That first inning, he had some jitters, but I’ve seen him come out of it before.” 

The home team scored first on a classic, manufactured run in the bottom of the opening frame. The Owls had runners at the corners with two outs when Sean Kinel danced off first base to induce Kamehameha into a rundown situation. Alexander Oley scored from third well before Kinel was finally tagged out, giving MPI a 1-0 lead. 

Owls starting pitcher Chase Wago was efficient, throwing first-pitch strikes. Kamehameha’s aggressive approach paid off in the top of the third. With two outs, Kody Cacal singled, and on a hit-and-run, Kekai Rios blasted a grounder in the spot vacated by Owls second baseman Jacob Maekawa. The ball reached the fence in right-center, scoring Cacal to tie the game at 1. After Codie Paiva walked, Arakaki sent the first pitch over the center-field fence 333 feet away for a three-run homer, and the Warriors led 4-1. 

“That was the only mistake,” Muramaru said of the pitch that got away. Wago went 4 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits. He walked one. 

The Owls got a run in the bottom of the third when Davin Takanishi walked and came home on a two-out double to deep center by Noah Shackles. 

The Warriors added an insurance run in the top of the sixth. Matthew Yokota walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch by reliever Grant Doi and scored on a two-out single to left by Kahoea Akau. 

In relief, Ah Choy pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings, allowing two hits. 

“He’s a good spotter with his fastball, and he’s determined to get the ball in his spot every time,” Perkins said. 

The 2-0 start for Kamehameha doesn’t faze Perkins, who coached the Warriors intermediate team for nearly two decades. The retired firefighter is a brother of former UH player Kimo Perkins. 

“We want our guys to stay focused and just play our game,” he said. “The boys have been working hard and continue to work on the basics. Everybody’s pulling each other up.” 

As for their aggressive, first pitch-swinging approach at the plate, Perkins expects his hitters to be adaptable.

“It depends on what we see,” he said, noting MPI’s penchant for throwing first-pitch strikes. “We’ve been working on contact. It’s hard to pitch around any of our guys.” 

Muramaru took the loss in stride. After all, it’s the gauntlet of all leagues, the ILH. One game doesn’t make a season.

“It’s going to be a dog fight,” he said.