Ian Kahaloa will take the mound for Campbell against Mililani's Micah Chinen with first place in the OIA D1 West at stake. ScoringLive photo illustration

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The state's top-ranked baseball teams will square off in clash of unbeatens when No. 1 Campbell visits No. 2 Mililani Saturday morning.

The Sabers and Trojans, the top two teams in the ScoringLive/OC16 Baseball Power Rankings, respectively, enter the weekend with identical 6-0 records and are tied atop the Division I West standings of the Oahu Interscholastic Association.

Campbell, which has won the past two league titles, will likely have the state's top prospect on the mound in right-handed pitcher Ian Kahaloa. The 6-1 senior is 2-0 on the season and has yet to allow a run in 13 innings pitched. He has given up just one hit and has struck out 26 batters with just one walk issued.

Kahaloa will likely be opposed by Mililani ace Micah Chinen. The 5-6 senior right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA. He's allowed six runs (two unearned) on nine hits in 18 innings of work and has struck out eight against just two walks.

Both squads are heavy with veterans. Campbell has eight seniors on its roster, while just over half of Mililani's roster are seniors.

"Campbell has the best pitching staff in the state with a couple of guys in the 90's, two or three guys in the mid to upper 80s and they've been playing together for a long time," Trojans' coach Mark Hirayama said. "Their starting lineup is all seniors, I think, and the majority of them have been starting since their sophomore year, so this is a quality club and it's going to be a good test for us to find out where we're at."

The Sabers are averaging 7.3 runs scored and less than one (0.83) runs allowed per game. They have posted four shutouts on the year, including a 7-0 win over Waipahu Wednesday night at Hans L'Orange Park.

"We're playing OK, we're pitching the ball pretty good, but I would like to see us have better at-bats, but it's a work in progress," Campbell coach Rory Pico said. "It's a progression and we want to continue to be able to work and get to our peak performance around playoff time, but it's kind of going as we expected."

Pico said some early-season injuries provided an opportunity for others to step in and produce. He specifically noted the loss of starting shortstop Jobe Ferdinand Ibana (shoulder) during the preseason.

"We just got (Ibana) back, but in the meantime, (second baseman) Jake Mendoza really stepped up his play and our sophomore shortstop from the JV (Shane Shimizu) did a really good job filling in," Pico said.

Not only is Kahaloa — who has been clocked in the mid to upper 90's — a force on the mound, he has also proved to be a threat at the plate. Kahaloa is batting an astronomical .684 with 13 hits and 10 RBIs in 19 at-bats this season.

"It's not really a surprise, but his bat is something new for us because he got hit on his hand and broke (non-throwing) his hand in a preseason game last year," Pico said of Kahaloa. "His bat in the lineup has been good for us. He's one of our consistent bats in the lineup."

The Trojans are averaging 6.5 runs scored and 1.3 runs allowed per game. They have won three games in shutout fashion, including a 15-0 win at Radford in five innings Wednesday.

"We've been getting by," Hirayama said. "The good thing is we're learning how to win. The pitching and defense is right where we want to be, but offensively we've got to be better, especially against a pitching staff like Campbell's."

Hirayama said the maturity of his team — which has 16 seniors and 14 juniors — has helped extensively this year. Furthermore, 19 of those players returned from last year's state runner-up squad.

"The nice thing is they play well together and they're a good group of kids," Hirayama said. "The last couple of years the hard part has always been trying to get them to jel and play good together, because we can't rely on one guy to carry us, and this year's team is pretty cohesive, so that makes things a lot easier when they understand what we're trying to do and it takes a lot of pressure off of us."

Pico, whose teams have reached consecutive state semifinals, had good things to say about Mililani.

"I know they have a very good team and they have almost everybody back," Pico said. "I think they return every starter defensively, so they're sound defensively and they've got some bats in the lineup with some pop. Chinen is a tough pitcher, so it's going to be a tough game. I know the kind of talent they have on that team and it will be a great test for us to see where we stand as far as our season and hopefully where the season goes."

Hirayama, who led the Trojans to consecutive state finals, downplayed the rankings and stressed execution instead.

"I don't put too much thought into the rankings. I mean, look at what we've done the last couple of years where we started off slow in the early part and ended up being there at the end. Like I tell our players, we're good on paper, but we still have to go out and play the game everyday, because on any given day anybody can beat anybody, so we've gotta go in and prove ourselves day-in and day-out.

"We played Campbell early (in the preseason) and they kind of hit us around, so there's no secrets; We've seen everybody and everybody's seen us, so we just have to out there and throw strikes, play defense and put the ball into play," Hirayama said.

First pitch between the Sabers and Trojans is set for 11 a.m.