Campbell's Dorrien Villanueva-Hermosura pitched three innings of relief to earn the save against Waipahu. Steve Erler | Special to SL

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EWA BEACH - If he isn't blowing away opponents on the mound, Ian Kahaloa is beating them with his bat.

Kahaloa batted 4 for 4 with two doubles and four RBI and Campbell overcame an early 4-0 deficit to beat visiting Waipahu, 12-4, Wednesday in Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division baseball.

Kahaloa, the premier pitcher in the state and designated hitter when he doesn't pitch, grounded a two out, two-run single in the bottom of the fourth to snap a 4-all game after Dorrien Villanueva-Hermosura was intentionally walked after a 2-0 count to load the bases to set up force plays all around. Kahaloa also had RBI doubles in the fourth and fifth innings.

"To me, I think I'm a better pitcher than hitter because I like to compete when pitching," Kahaloa said. "As a hitter, I'm not too satisfied with that. I just do it for my team."

Hard-throwing sophomore right-hander Markus Ramos started on the mound for the Sabers. He did not allow a hit and struck out five in 2 2/3 innings. But he struggled with command, walking three and hitting two batters. Mixed signals with his battery mate, catcher Tryzen Patricio, led to a passed ball and that was followed by a wild pitch that gave the Marauders a 1-0 lead.

"I thought he threw pretty well," Campbell coach Rory Pico said. "He got into a little funk, some mechanical things. It's something I feel we can fix. He'll be all right. He was throwing well up until that point."

Ramos eventually was pulled with the bases loaded and two out for Chad Samante. Rustin Ho greeted Samante with a bases-clearing triple to right to give Waipahu a 4-0 lead in the top of the third.

Samante added a scoreless fourth and was the beneficiary of being the pitcher of record for the win when the Sabers took the lead in the fourth. Villanueva-Hermosura tagged on three scoreless innings of one-hit ball with six strikeouts for the save.

Jaron Sugimoto was charged with six runs, 11 hits and a walk in four innings for Waipahu. Michael Price pitched the final two innings, allowing six runs, four unearned because of four errors during his stint, and four hits.

Ramos was sailing along, striking five of the first seven batters he faced. He retired the first two batters in the third before hitting Dustyn Mori and walking Kobie Russell. A passed ball moved the runners to third and second and a wild pitch scored Mori and sent Russell to third. McGwire Scanlan walked and Greyson Fuentes was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Pico pulled Ramos for Samante, who gave up Ho's bases-clearing triple before Shiloh Baniaga flied out to center to end the inning.

But the Sabers, who return nearly all of its starting position players from their two-time defending OIA championship team, showed their poise in the bottom of the third. Shane Shimizu, spelling injured (shoulder) returning shortstop Jobe Ferdinand Ibana, reached on an error and took second on Bula Sprinkel's second of three bunt singles in the game. The runners advanced on Jake Mendoza's sacrifice and scored on Villanueva's two-run single. Pinch runner Dylan Florentin scored on Kahaloa's double to right-center to pull Campbell to 4-3. After taking third on a balk, Florentin scored when Keola Himan grounded out to shortstop to tie the game at 4. Although Blayze Arcano-Llacuna singled for the second time in the game, the inning ended when Kila Kapihe grounded out to third.

"This was a big game for (our players) to be in," Waipahu coach Jared Abreu said. "We didn't handle the pressure very well. But we'll learn from this. The next time we play (Campbell) will be a TV game. We'll play better."

Campbell took the lead in the fourth. Patricio led off with a single and was lifted for courtesy runner Kekahi Reiny Aloy, who took second on Shimizu's sacrifice, and went to third when Sprinkel reached on his third bunt single of the game. After Sprinkel stole second, Mendoza reached on a fielder's choice grounder to shortstop, but Reiny Aloy was thrown out trying to score, but his rundown lasted long enough for Mendoza to take second, as Sprinkel went to third. Villanueva was intentionally walked after a 2-0 count to load the bases and Kahaloa delivered a two-run single to give Campbell a 6-4 lead before Himan popped to second to end the inning.

"I was thinking, I had to come in clutch," Kahaloa said when Villanueva was intentionally walked. "They're giving me a shot to at least score the runs."

An injury to Kahaloa's left hand during preseason last year relegated him to only pitching; DH duties were shared. He's batting cleanup for a reason.

"He's been seeing the ball pretty well," Pico said. "He's been having great at-bats, so we're going to ride him out."

Kahaloa does work out with the outfielders in practice, Pico said. "We had to think about that incase we had to pull him out (from the mound). We don't' want to lose his bat, so we need to find another position for him."

The Sabers added a run in the fifth when Kapihe reached on a two-base throwing error with one out and an out later, scored on pinch hitter Darren Gallano's single.

The Sabers increased their lead with a five-run fifth highlighted by RBI doubles from Villanueva and Kahaloa.