Josh Souza makes a pitch to home against an Iolani batter. Souza pitched for three innings and only allowed one hit and one run. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kainoa Fong attempts to dodge a tag by Kamehameha's Isaiah Motta on the way towards first base. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Christian Donahue was 2-of-4 at the plate with a single and a double. Donahue scored one of two Iolani runs against Kamehameha. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kody Cacal was 1-of-3 at the plate in a match against Iolani. Cacal drove in a 2 RBI double to help Kamehameha to win. Sylvia Lee | SL

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WAIPIO — Sixth-ranked Kamehameha got all the offense it needed in the first inning and never allowed No. 2 Iolani to recover in a 7-2 win in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu game at Patsy T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park Thursday afternoon.

Will Young and Kody Cacal, the No. 7 and 8 batters in the Warriors' lineup, drove in two runs apiece to help their team improve to 3-2-2 in the ILH Division I standings. Every spot in the batting order got at least one hit to help Kamehameha rack up 11 hits, including run-scoring doubles by Makana Arakaki and Cacal in the first inning.

"Every game in this league is important and you have to come to play every day," Warriors' coach Billy Pieper said. "This was a big game for us to try and keep pace with the leaders in the standings. We got some timely hits, made the plays we had to and fortunately it was enough to come away with a win today."

Starting pitcher Josh Souza went three innings and allowed one run on one hit. He picked up the win despite walking five Iolani batters. Souza beaned Max Look to start off the game. Look ended up coming around to score in the inning to give the Raiders the early lead.

However, Kamehameha halted any momentum by the visitors with five runs in the bottom of the frame. Kekai Rios and Paiva opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Back-to-back wild pitches by Iolani start Joshua Inouye allowed Rios to score and put Paiva at third. Arakaki then doubled to left to bring Paiva in and three batters later, Young singled in Arakaki. Cacal followed with his two-run double down the left field line to plate both Keenan Lum and Young. The Warriors' 5-1 lead held until the top of the fifth.

"My teammates were telling me that the first-pitch strike is always a fastball, so I went up there looking for it, got it and drove it," said Cacal, the Kamehameha second baseman. "We really needed to kill their momentum from that first run they got and we were able to come back with five runs in the bottom of the inning."

Iolani threatened in the top of the second when it loaded the bases on a leadoff single by Matt Campos and consecutive walks to Look and Bronson Ichimura. However, Souza got out of the jam by getting No. 3-hitter Christian Donahue to pop up to the left fielder. It was the only at bat that Donahue failed to get on base Thursday. He reached on an error in the first inning, doubled and came around to score in the fifth and single in the sixth.

"We need to give up less walks so that we don't put ourselves in that kind of a position," Pieper said. "Still, it was great to be able to make our pitches in that spot and get out of there without any damage."

Eric Sniffen relieved Souza to start the top of the fourth and prompty retired the side on three groundouts. He allowed Donahue to double to leadoff the fifth and two batters later Joshua Inaba's two-out single to left center allowed Donahue to score from second.

Kamehameha quickly recouped the run in the bottom of the inning. Ethan Rosehill drew a two-out walk and courtesy runner Kahoea Akau scored on an RBI single to left by Young. The Warriors added a run in the seventh when Paiva's RBI-single to left plated James DeJesus.

Lum pitched the final two innings for Kamehameha and allowed three hits, but stranded all three base runners.

"We did a good job today," Cacal said. "It was a good team win; everybody contributed."

Inouye, who allowed six runs — all earned — on eight hits took the loss for Iolani, which fell to 4-3. Ezra Heleski came on in relief in the sixth and allowed a run on three hits.

The Raiders, who had won three straight, suffered their second loss to the Warriors this season. They lost 6-5 back just 12 days earlier. Iolani doesn't play again until March 28, when it takes on Saint Louis at 3:30 p.m., as part of an ILH doubleheader at CORP. Kamehameha plays Punahou at 6 p.m. in the second game of the televised doubleheader.

Iolani and Kamehameha face off for a third time on April 4 at the Raiders' home field.