Punahou leadoff hitter Cole Cabrera heads home for the first run of the game. The Buffanblu jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never trailed in their win over Mid-Pacific. Steve Erler | SL

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WAIPIO — Punahou cashed in on Mid-Pacific's early miscues and never looked back in its 7-2 Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I postseason win Tuesday afternoon.

The Buffanblu (11-7) ended the second-ranked Owls' 10-game winning streak at Patsy T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park to advance out of the winner's bracket of the league's double-elimination tournament.

Punahou, who is ranked fourth in the Hawaiian Electric/ScoringLive Baseball Power Rankings, will face the winner of Friday's matchup between Mid-Pacific (13-4) and Iolani (6-12) on Saturday.

Sophomore pitcher Kahi Bisho out dueled Mid-Pacific ace Chase Wago to notch his first victory this year. Bisho, who pitching in relief in Punahou's two regular season losses to the Owls, tossed four strikeouts and scattered five hits across five innings in the win.

"I'm pretty stoked about today," said Bisho (1-4). "My past experiences against (Mid-Pacific) hasn't been the best so it feels good."

Three Mid-Pacific errors in the top of the first helped contribute to Punahou's hot start. After leadoff hitter Cole Cabrera got on base thanks to a fortunate bounce over Mid-Pacific first baseman Ryne Yamashiro, designated hitter Noah Goss reached on an error by shortstop Jacob Maekawa. Logan Williams followed with a hit to right field and cleanup hitter Easton Takamoto benefitted from a error by Mid-Pacific third baseman Tevin Tengan to score Cabrera for the first run of the contest with no outs. Goss would score one batter later as Andrew Matsueda reached on safely on another error by Maekawa.

"Unfortunate first inning," said Mid-Pacific coach Dunn Muramaru. "They hit the ball real hard that first inning. Just tough plays. We just had a off game. I think every team is allowed a off game. We'll be back."

The first half of the opening inning finally came to a close after Asa Kurasaki grounded out into a double play and Kai Terada-Herzer was put out at first base.

Bisho got to work early and struck out Maekawa looking to begin the bottom of the first frame, but gave up back-to-back hits to Alexander Oley and Wago. Oley would later score on a wild pitch to cut the lead in half before Cameron Wong grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Unlike in previous meetings with the Owls, Punahou was able to stay productive at the plate in multiple innings. Nine-hole hitter Colin Freeman drew a walk and Goss moved him over with a line drive to left field two batters later with two outs on the board. Wago walked Williams to load the bases and later beaned Takamoto, which allowed Freeman to come home to make it 3-1 Punahou. Before the inning came to a close, Matsueda drilled a shot into left field to plate Goss and courtesy runner Brent Shimoda to give Punahou a four-run lead on the Owls.

With some run insurance, Bisho was able to strike out two of the next three batters he faced.

"That gave me more confidence," he said. "Pitching with a lead helped take some stress off."

Mid-Pacific benefited from a throwing error to score another run in the bottom of the second, but could not get anything going offensively the rest of the way.

Bisho also did not walk anyone after the second inning.

"I'm proud of Kahi," said Punahou coach Keenan Sue. "This was one of his best games of the year. We needed him to step up today and he did."  

Goss and Shimoda scored two more runs in the top of the fourth for the final two runs of the contest.

"I think it's just that we're getting hot at the right time and hopefully that's what it is," said Goss. "Timely hitting makes it easier. I know we're all doing our job and that's how we're getting some wins."

Wago (4-2) was tagged with eight hits before getting pulled in favor of Shane Adams after 11 outs. Adams had three strikeouts and threw three and one-third innings of no-hit ball the rest of the way.

Riley Guieb relieved Bisho after the fifth inning and tossed two strikeouts against two hits to close out the game.