No. 4 Punahou outlasts No. 3 Iolani in extras


Jake Tsukada (right) ended the game in walk-off fashion with a first-pitch solo shot in the bottom of the 10th inning. Greg Yamamoto | SL

HAWAII KAI — Jake Tsukada took a first-pitch offering and slammed it over the right field fence to walk fourth-ranked Punahou off with a 5-4 victory over No. 3 Iolani in the 10th inning of an Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I matchup at Goeas Field.

Tsukada scored twice and batted in two runs to help the Buffanblu rebound from their 7-2 loss to the Raiders just one week prior.

Iolani tied the game up in the top of the seventh inning after Shane Sasaki launched his fourth home run of the season to make it a 4-4 ballgame.

Both teams were retired rather quickly through the next three innings before Tsukada's hit gave Punahou its ninth win of the season (9-1) for a half-game lead over Saint Louis (9-2) atop the ILH D1 standings.

Matt McConnell recorded his third win on the mound after 5 2/3 innings in relief of starter Landon Carter.

Iolani's Jadon Arakaki was tagged with the loss.

It was the third-straight loss for the Raiders after starting the season 8-0.