Punahou coach Keenan Sue believes in defense and pitching first and foremost.

When it came to an elimination matchup with Saint Louis, he didn’t hesitate to turn to his rippers on the bench. Pinch hitters Mason Asato, Codey Kitagawa and Jerick Nomura came through with back-to-back-to-back singles during a four-run fourth inning as Punahou rallied for a 5-2 win over Saint Louis on Thursday night at Hans L’Orange Park.

The Buffanblu (12-9) finished tied for fourth place during the ILH regular season, then placed second during the playoff tourney. That set up a showdown with the regular-season runner-up, Saint Louis (11-7), with the second and final state berth at stake.

“This is amazing, but I’m not really surprised. I knew we could do it.” said Noah Goss, who pitched 41⁄3 scoreless innings in relief.

He also hit 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

The Crusaders took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on run-scoring singles by Keith Torres and Kaiolohia Perreira-Alquiza.

After Asato and Kitagawa singled, Punahou cut it to 2-1 in the fourth against Chase Meilleur on a single by Nomura on a 1-2 pitch.

Cole Cabrera (3-for-4) then singled to bring home Colin Freeman, who had re-entered for Asato, tying the game.

Then a fielding error by second baseman Perreira-Alquiza allowed Kitagawa and Nomura to score, giving Punahou a 4-2 lead.

The Buffanblu added a run in the fifth when Logan Williams doubled and courtesy runner Evan Tsuruda scored on a wild pitch. Reliever Dawson Yamaguchi had the tag on Tsuruda at home plate, but the ball popped loose on contact.

Punahou reliever Riley Guieb closed with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.