Saint Louis' Kaiolohia Perreira-Alquiza rounds second base with teammate Matt Wong right behind. The Crusaders exploded for 11 runs on 11 hits in a win over the Buffanblu. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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ALA WAI — Saint Louis made sure there wasn't going to be any late-game heroics from the Punahou Buffanblu.

The top-ranked Crusaders built a 4-2 lead after the first inning and tallied seven more runs in the bottom of the sixth to hammer No. 3 Punahou, 11-5 at Ala Wai Field Saturday afternoon.

Saint Louis (5-1) racked up 11 hits in the contest to take sole-possession of first place in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I standings.

Junior right-handed pitcher Chase Meilleur picked up his third win of the season, scattering eight hits across six innings without an earned run charged against him.

It was the first completed game between the two teams this season. The Crusaders led 1-0 over the Buffanblu on Tuesday before the game was suspended due to rain delay. That game will resume on March 28.

"When the game rained out, it was tough for us because we were really motivated, but the next two days in practice we just practiced really hard and it showed today," said right fielder Matt Wong.

Punahou dropped its first game since its season-opener and fell to 4-2. In three of the four Buffanblu wins this season, Punahou trailed after five innings of play.

The Buffanblu scored three runs in the top of the seventh with a pair of Saint Louis relievers on the mound, but could not overcome the 7-run onslaught by the Crusaders in the bottom of the sixth.

"Our (assistant) coach Derrick (Fujioka) said we needed insurance to protect the pitcher just in case they get runs in the last inning," said Wong. "It was good that we capitalized and got some insurance because we really needed those runs."

Wong led the offensive effort going 2 for 3 with double, triple, two runs scored and three RBIs. Third basemen Brendan Uchima also batted 2 for 3 and drove in three runs with a double and a sacrifice fly.

Punahou put pressure early in the top of the first after leadoff hitter Cole Cabrera got on base after an error by first baseman Aaron Renaud. Designated hitter Noah Goss drove Cabrera home one batter later with a double to deep left field.

Catcher Codey Kitagawa batted in the three-hole spot and advanced to first on a base on balls. Right fielder Jerick Nomura grounded into a double play right after, but not before Goss scored to make it 2-0 in favor of Punahou. The Crusaders got out of the inning with a foul out two batters later.

In the bottom of the first, leadoff hitter Keith Torres dialed up a hit on Punahou starter Kahi Bisho. He was followed by catcher Taylor Meilleur, who got on with a walk, and second baseman Kaiolohia Perreria-Alquiza, who loaded the bases after an error by first baseman Easton Takamoto.

Uchima brought Torres home with a sacrifice fly and Wong had an RBI double to plate courtesy runner Ronson Timbreza to tie the score. Renaud flied out to left field for the second out of the game before John Kea had a 2 RBI single to score Perreira-Alquiza and Wong to make it 4-2.

"Baseball is a funny game. Sometimes the gods are with you, sometimes they're not," said Punahou second-year coach Keenan Sue. "(The Crusaders) bang the ball and they do a really good job. They're aggressive and they're just a really solid ball club. Unfortunately we didn't come back today like we did against Mid-Pacific the other day."

The score remained at 4-2 for most of the game as both pitchers and defenses buckled down after the hot start.

Saint Louis' sixth-inning scoring spree was set up in the bottom of the fifth when Bisho was pulled for Geoffrey Moore with two outs left. Moore walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but got out of the inning with a strikeout.

The next inning was another story. Moore faced seven batters before getting replaced by Kekoa Vieira with two outs left. Saint Louis batted around the lineup and sent 12 total hitters to plate in the frame.

"We're really truly just taking it one game at a time," said Saint Louis coach George Gusman. "Everybody knows what the ILH is like, you just have to take the win and move on."