Campbell's Ian Kahaloa went the distance in a shutout win over Leilehua, allowing no runs on one hit, striking out 13 and walking just one. Steve Erler | Special to SL

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WAHIAWA - The some 20 pro scouts watching Campbell's Ian Kahaloa pitch saw a rarity at Howard Oda Field

The 6-foot-1 senior right-hander allowed a hit and a walk in his first complete-game start this season in a 3-0 win against Leilehua Wednesday in Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Western Division baseball.

Lead-off hitter Christian Ontai drew the first-inning walk and got the third-inning single for the Mules. It was just the second walk and third hit allowed by Kahaloa (6-0 overall, 2-0 in the OIA) in 30 innings (including preseason). The only things the scouts probably weren't surprised to see were the shutout and 13 strikeouts by Kahaloa, who has yet to allow a run this season and has raised his strikeout total to 57.

The Sabers (4-0) maintain their share of the lead in the Division West with Mililani (4-0), which beat Waianae, 6-2.

The Mules (1-4) saw their best chance to score off Kahaloa in the bottom of the first inning. Kahaloa said he was adjusting to the mound at the city-owned park. He walked Ontai to start the inning, allowed a wild pitch, hit Kebi Dellaton with a pitch and saw courtesy runner Jansen Dangaran steal second. Moreover, Kahaloa inadvertently hit the home plate umpire with a pitch (catcher Tryzen Patricio said he lost sight of the fastball when the batter's bat screened him from the pitch).

"We should've scored a run in that inning," Leilehua coach Lane Watanuki said. "Miscommunication. Things like that. Third batter up, runner on third (with) one out. We should've been able to push across that run. We get a run on Kahaloa, who knows? Maybe a totally different game.

"We'll get better. We have to learn that against teams like Campbell, we cannot make mistakes like that."

After the squandered opportunity in the first, only two other batters would reach first the rest of the game: Ontai with his single and pinch hitter Trey Yukumoto, who reached on third baseman Kila Kapihe's fielding error in the fifth.

Kahaloa threw a season-high 91 pitches -  one over the ceiling set by Sabers coach Rory Pico - 67 of them  for strikes. At one juncture, Kahaloa struck out five in a row, the Nos. 2 to 6 batters in the Mules' lineup. Every Mule starter struck out at least once.

"The mound had a little hill in front of it," Kahaloa said. "I had to make a little adjustment."

Kahaloa was clocked at 92 mph. "It felt like that," he said. "I wasn't trying to overpower anybody. After that first inning, I just had to throw strikes."

It was Kahaloa's first start in two weeks, when he pitched six innings in a combined no-hitter with Markus Ramos.

"It's been a while since he's thrown," Pico said. "We put him on an 85-90 pitch count. It was going to be his last inning no matter what. He felt good. He was throwing the ball well. He was throwing his off-speed for strikes. We had another guy warming up in case we got to a certain point, but he seemed like he still had something."

His defense was reliable as usual. In the seventh, third baseman Kapihe made a back-handed stop of a grounder by Trayson Kubo and first baseman Dorrien Villanueva-Hermosura made a nice stretch in securing the throw. The next play, shortstop Jobe Ibana, who played defense for the first time this season since nursing a shoulder injury, ranged far to his left to field a grounder for the second out of the inning. Kahaloa struck out the last batter to end the game.

"It was hard," Ontai said of facing Kahaloa. "I just swung the bat and got contact. His (pitches) move a lot, like his off-speed. His fastball comes too fast, so it's hard to pick up."

Mules' starting pitcher Kubo allowed three runs, eight hits and a walk while striking out eight in 6 2/3 innings. The left-handed Ontai faced one batter - the left-handed hitting Villanueva-Hermosura, who was 2 for 2 against Kubo - and retired him on a grounder to second.

The Sabers could have done more damage, but had two runners thrown out at home on perfectly executed relays from the outfield.

Jake Mendoza lined a triple to right, but was gunned down at the plate for the second out in the first inning. But Villanueva-Hermosura followed with a single, took second on a wild pitch and scored Kahaloa's line single to left. Courtesy runners Shane Shimizu stole second and took third on a wild pitch, but Kubo stranded him there by striking out Blayze Arcano-Llacuna.

In the bottom of the third, Kapihe reached on a wild pitch following a swinging third strike, took second on Bula Sprinkels sacrifice and advanced to third on Mendoza's single to left; Mendoza took second on an error. Villanueva-Hermosura's sacrifice fly to center increased Campbell's lead to 2-0 before Kahaloa grounded out to short to end the inning.

The Sabers added a run in the fifth. Kapihe led off with a single, but was forced at second when Sprinkel reached on a fielder's choice grounder to second. He made to third on a wild pitch and an out later, scored on Villanueva-Hermosura's single to center. Kahaloa flied out to center to end the inning.

"We bunched enough hits together," Pico said. "It didn't help we got two thrown out at home plate, but that's the game. They made two great relay throws. We were forcing them to make the play and they made it on us."