The surprises continued yesterday when Punahou romped past defending state champion Kamehameha, 14-4, at Ala Wai field in a game called with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning due to the 10-run rule.

"You never think you're going to go in and 10-run rule Kamehameha," Buffanblu coach Eric Kadooka said. "Even when we were up (big), they showed they could score runs instantly. But I don't think there's a clear-cut favorite this year. Every game on the schedule, you don't really look at who you're playing because anybody can beat anybody."

Punahou (1-1) proved that yesterday, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning after scoring on a wild pitch and Kasey Ko's two-run single. The Buffanblu made it 4-0 in the second on Michael Lam's sacrifice fly.

The Warriors (1-1) got a run back in the third inning on Stuart Kam's sacrifice fly, but Punahou responded with two runs in the bottom half on Landon Nakata's triple followed by a wild pitch.

Kamehameha then closed to 6-4 in the fourth on A.J. Satele's two-run double and Eli Chee's RBI double, but the Buffanblu exploded for six runs in the bottom of the frame.

Noah Phillips' bases-clearing triple to right-center and Ko's sacrifice fly keyed the rally for Punahou, which was aided by two Kamehameha errors.

Mark Veneri's run-scoring single in the fifth made it 13-3, and another Kamehameha error set up Phillips' sacrifice fly to end the game.

"We put ourselves in a hole from the very beginning, and they took advantage of our mistakes," Warriors coach Vern Ramie said. "(The Buffanblu) are a good team and they hit well, but we kicked the ball around and hurt ourselves."

Punahou played errorless defense behind starting pitcher Shaun Kiriu, who tossed a three-hitter with five strikeouts and three walks.

"Kamehameha can always hit, but I just tried to make good pitches and having the lead was good," said Kiriu, a senior right-hander. "I was getting my off-speeds over early (in the count). I thought it was going to be a close game ... like one run."

But Saturday's openers — which saw Damien defeating Iolani, Saint Louis beating Punahou and Kamehameha squeezing past Maryknoll in 11 innings — immediately proved that this season will be tough to predict.

"I think that's true this year more than any other year," Ramie said. "In this league, if you don't come to play, you're gonna get your butt kicked and that's what happened to us today."

• KAMEHAMEHA (1-1) 001 30 —4 3 3
• PUNAHOU (1-1) 312 62 —14 10 0

Jacob Cockett, Troy Samura (4), Koa Kaleo (5) and Stuart Kam; Shaun Kiriu and Robert Kurisu. W — Kiriu. L — Cockett.

Leading hitters: Kamehameha—A.J. Satele 2-2, two doubles, 2 RBIs. Punahou—Noah Phillips 2-3, double, triple, 4 RBIs; Kiriu 2-3; Kasey Ko 1-2, 3 RBIs; Landon Nakata 1-2, triple, RBI.

• Mid-Pacific 2, Saint Louis 0: Harry Kuroda had a run-scoring triple in the sixth inning and combined with Conan Young on a four-hit shutout to lead the Owls (2-0) past the Crusaders (1-1) at Ala Wai field.

Young and Saints' starter Marc Nobriga were locked in a scoreless duel for four-plus innings, until Kuroda replaced Young with one out in the fifth. Kuroda then stranded three Crusaders by getting a flyout to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth, MPI's Chris Freshour hit a one-out single to right and came home on Kuroda's triple to center field. Chad Takabuki then added an insurance run with a double down the right field line.

Saint Louis got runners aboard in the sixth and seventh innings, but got them thrown out on steal attempts.

Nobriga finished with seven strikeouts and three walks.

• MID-PACIFIC (2-0) 000 002 0 — 2 6 1
• SAINT LOUIS (1-1) 000 000 0 — 0 4 1

Conan Young, Harry Kuroda (5) and Kip Masuda; Marc Nobriga and Jowen Murray-Thornton. W — Kuroda. L — Nobriga.

Leading hitters: Mid-Pacific—Kuroda 1-3, triple, RBI; Chad Takabuki double, RBI. Saint Louis—Murray-Thornton double.

• Iolani 26, Maryknoll 0: The Raiders amassed 20 hits, including two homers each by Shawn Agustin and Jared Nakama, as the game was shorten to five innings (10-run mercy rule).

• MARYKNOLL (0-1) 0 0 0 00— 0 2 2
• IOLANI (1-1) 7(11)8 0X—26 20 0

Brett Ikei, Spencer Kim (1), Nick Holmberg (2), Matt Fukumoto (2), Reid Nakamura (3) and Brian Tabata, Hiroshi Kuroda (3). Eric Muraoka, Wally Marciel (4) and Bert Mitsunaga, Riley Yamamoto (4). W—Muraoka. L—Ikei.

Leading hitters: Iolani—Shawn Agustin 3-4, double, homer, 3 RBIs; Kelly Teramoto 2-2, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs; Greg Hackler 3-4, triple; Jared Nakama2-3, homer; Kahiwa Letman 2-2, 2 RBIs; Bert Mitsunaga 2-2, 2 doubles.

• Damien-Pac-Five, ppd rain: The game between the Monarchs and Wolfpack at Joey DeSa Field was postponed because of rain and will be made up at a later date.

OIA

• Kailua 4, Castle 3: The Surfriders scored three of their four runs on solo homers by Michael Kealoha, Kekoa Sua and Ryan Rodrigues to beat the host Knights in a game played at Kailua.

Ikaika Reppuhn, Kaimi Ah Neu and Dallas Olsen each had two hits for Castle.

• KAILUA (1-0) 201 010 0—4 5 0
• CASTLE (0-1) 100 020 0—3 9 1

Ryan Rodrigues, Bronson Kamaka (6) and Sean Medeiros. Kaimi Ah Neu and David Mohika. W—Rodrigues. L—Ah Neu.

Leading hitters: Kailua—Michael Kealoha homer; Kekoa Sua homer; Derek Mailau double; Rodrigues 2-3, homer. Castle—Ikaika Reppuhn 2-4; Ah Neu 2-4, double; Dallas Olsen 2-2.

Reported by Joe Tom

• Mililani 7, Waipahu 5: Brandon Oshiro's solo homer and Ian Koki's two-run double sparked a five-run top of the seventh as the visiting Trojans defeated the Marauders in a make up game which was rained out on Wednesday.

Oshiro's homer tied it at 3-all, Chaz Miyashiro then tripled home the go-ahead run, and Koki added his two-run double.

• MILILANI 000 011 5 — 7 8 4
• WAIPAHU 300 000 2 — 5 5 1

Kelsey Nakata and Kamaka Crabbe. Shane Jelf and John Fauatea. W—Nakata. L—Jelf.

Leading Hitters: Mililani—Ian Koki 2-4, double, 2-run homer; Tony Aquino 2-4, 2 doubles; Reid Hirata 2-3; Brandon Oshiro solo homer; Chaz Miyashiro triple. Waipahu—Jordan Mikami 2-run homer.

Reported by Milton Takenaka