Kailua's Ryan McMonigle was in control on the mound yesterday against Roosevelt.

The Surfriders also executed on the base paths, twice cashing in runs on attempted double steals with runners at the corners.

McMonigle pitched a five-hitter with one walk and four strikeouts, and host Kailua stole a pair of runs in a 4-2 victory over Roosevelt.

"He had command of all his pitches," Kailua coach Corey Ishigo said of McMonigle. "He could throw them for strikes in any situation and that was a plus for him."

Kailua, ranked No. 7 in The Advertiser's Top 10, and No. 5 Roosevelt are tied atop the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red East at 7-2. The teams meet again Saturday at Stevenson Intermediate field.

Both runs charged against McMonigle, a junior right-hander, were unearned. He threw 53 of his 83 pitches for strikes.

"At the beginning I couldn't get over my off-speed, so I just had to adjust," McMonigle said. "I was just getting my fastball over, getting ahead."

The Surfriders had runners at the corners and two outs in the fourth and sixth, and scored both times on double-steal attempts. Jared Iha, a senior second baseman, was the catalyst both times.

In the fourth, Kailua had runners at first and second with two down. Iha stole third on the first pitch to Tyson Lono with Patrick Wolfe holding at first.

"Coach gives us the green light to go with two outs depending on the situation and batter," Iha said.

On the next pitch, Wolfe took off for second, and the catcher threw to the shortstop in front of the bag. Iha scored without a throw to make it 3-2. Wolfe was tagged out after a rundown.

"We have many different variations of first-and-third plays that we do offensively," Ishigo said. "It depends on the matchup, the situation, the score."

In the sixth, Kailua had Jared Matsumoto at third and Iha at first with two outs. On a 1-0 pitch to Wolfe, Iha strayed way off first base in an attempt to get into a rundown.

"On the last one, coach told me to delay steal and to make something happen with two outs," Iha said. "Stay in the rundown for the runner to score."

The Roosevelt catcher tossed the ball back to pitcher Billy Kamau, who ran toward Iha. Kamau's throw to the first baseman was dropped, which allowed Matsumoto to score and make it 4-2. Iha was tagged out near second base.

"We always work on it," Roosevelt coach Matt Apana said of the first-and-third situation. "It really shouldn't be that tough. Obviously, there are no excuses. We just didn't execute like we should have."

Kamau, a senior right-hander, pitched a seven-hitter with one walk and seven strikeouts.

ROOSEVELT (7-2) 020 000 0—2 5 2

KAILUA (7-2) 110 101 X—4 7 1

Billy Kamau and Cameron Fuchigami. Ryan McMonigle and Alan Baldwin. W —McMonigle. L —Kamau.

Leading hitters—Kailua: Kory Sasaoka triple; McMonigle 2-3; Jared Iha 2 runs.