Dialing long distance again after a short home run hiatus, 'Iolani held off Saint Louis, 6-3, yesterday at Ala Wai Field to keep pace in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball title chase.

The Raiders, ranked No. 3 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, improved to 11-1, tied for first place with Kamehameha.

The Warriors handed 'Iolani its only loss, 6-3, last Thursday.

But the Raider bats came alive again yesterday, with Breland Almadova and Reyn Nagamine hitting solo homers in the top of the first and second innings, respectively, to give 'Iolani a quick 2-0 lead. The Raiders made it 3-0 in the third after Jarrett Arakawa led off with a walk, advanced to second on Almadova's groundout to third and scored on Buen Hatanaka's single to left field.

'Iolani stretched the lead to 6-0 in the fifth after RBI singles from Almadova and Nagamine followed by Grant Iwamoto's sacrifice fly to center.

Nagamine — a senior who made The Advertiser's All-State first team as a freshman and sophomore — went through some ups and downs at the plate earlier in the season but raised his average to .480 entering yesterday's game.

"(Teams) were pitching around me here and there, and a lot of times I left men on base because I didn't make contact how I wanted to," Nagamine said. "But I just had to stick through it, and as long as the team is winning, that's the main thing."

'Iolani coach Dean Yonamine said Nagamine has had to be patient as opponents plot their strategy against him.

"It's hard to get your rhythm and timing down when they're pitching around you or intentionally walking you once a game," Yonamine said. "He finally got a couple fastballs early in the count that he could handle."

The Crusaders (5-7) closed to 6-3 in the sixth, after Moses Samia's sacrifice fly and RBI singles by Kaden Kamoe and Kalei Contrades.

But Arakawa, who came on to relieve starter Sheldon Lee with a 6-0 lead but the bases loaded with no outs in the sixth, retired the side in order in the seventh to close out the victory.

"We had no discipline at the plate," Saint Louis coach Duane Fraticelli said.

Arakawa said 'Iolani pitching coach Eric Yamamoto told him to "don't think" too much in pitching the seventh inning.

"I was dipping my arm, so I just had to get my arm up a little higher," said Arakawa, a junior left-hander. "If you make a mistake (against the Crusaders), they make you pay. But coming in with the (6-0) lead helps."

'IOLANI (11-1) 111 030 0 — 6 8 3

SAINT LOUIS (5-7) 000 003 0 — 3 6 1

Sheldon Lee, Jarrett Arakawa (6) and Grant Iwamoto. Chris Chung, Zach Markwith (6) and Moses Samia. W — Lee. L — Chung.

Leading hitters — 'Iolani: Reyn Nagamine 2-2, home run, 2 RBIs; Breland Almadova 2-4, home run, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Arakawa 1-3, 2 runs. Saint Louis: Kalei Contrades 2-3, RBI; Keao Aliviado 2-4.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456. Read his blog on high school sports at www.preptalk.honadvblogs.com.

NO. 1 KAMEHAMEHA 5, DAMIEN 1:

Harley Holt pitched four scoreless innings in relief with five strikeouts, Pi'ikea Kitamura went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Keanu Carmichael homered to lead the Warriors to an ILH victory over the Monarchs at CORP.

KAMEHAMEHA (11-1) 200 001 2 — 5 9 0

DAMIEN (4-8) 010 000 0 — 1 3 0

Jordyn Ah Chong, Harley Holt (3) and Keanu Carmichael. Isaac Ventura, Jeremy Dela Cruz (3), Derrick Dudoit (6) and Aalona Amimoto. W — Holt. L — Ventura.

Leading hitters — Kamehameha: Kalei Hanawahine 2-3, double, 2 runs, RBI; Pi'ikea Kitamura 3-4, double, 2 RBIs, run; Carmichael home run; Arlie Johnson double. Damien: none.

Reported by Nick Bradley.

NO. 4 MID-PACIFIC 10, PAC-FIVE 0:

Matthew McDaniel allowed one hit (a single by Brysen Honda in the second inning), Todd Nagamine went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Derek Tan drove in two runs as the Owls beat the Wolfpack in a game shortened to five innings.

PAC-FIVE (0-12) 000 00— 0 1 0

MID-PACIFIC (9-3) 271 0X—10 11 0

Shayne Nakata, Kelsey Uyehara (3) and Reid Morihara. Matthew McDaniel and Dane Fujinaka. W — McDaniel. L — Nakata.

Leading hitters — Pac-Five: none. Mid-Pacific: Todd Nagamine 2-3, triple, double, 3 RBIs, 3 runs; Justin Protacio 2-3, triple, 2 runs; Bryson Chang double; Derek Tan 2-3, 2 RBIs.

Reported by Nick Bradley.

PUNAHOU 14, MARYKNOLL 1:

Evan Lim and two relievers combined on a two-hitter, Matthew Barrett-Wright had a double, triple and three RBIs, and Tyler Hanzawa doubled and tripled and drove in two runs to lead the Buffanblu over the Spartans in a game shortened to five innings at Ala Wai field.

MARYKNOLL (2-10) 000 10— 1 2 9

PUNAHOU (6-6) 403 7X—14 11 2

Aaron Tom, Matthew Hara (4), Trevor Saiki (4) and David Nishiki. Evan Lim, Travis Ganiko (4), Rawlin Sasamura (5) and Tyler Young, Matthew Barrett-Wright (3). W — Lim. L — Tom.

Leading hitters — Maryknoll: Jeffrey Hagino, RBI. Punahou: Michael Suiter 2-2, double; Barrett-Wright 2-3, triple, double, 3 RBIs; Tyler Hanzawa 2-3, triple, double, 2 RBIs; Kimo Makaula double.

Reported by Nick Bradley.

OIA WHITE SOFTBALL

KALANI 7, 'ANUENUE 0:

The host Falcons (5-4) were awarded an O'ahu Interscholastic Association White victory when Na Koa (1-9) had to forfeit because of a lack of players.