Mid-Pacific's Hunter Hill slides safely into home to score a run for the owls. Evan Asato | SL

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WAIPIO — For the second time in less than a week, Mid-Pacific came from behind to beat Punahou in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu game.

Nicholas Bottom hit a bases-clearing double to snap a 3-all tie in the top of the sixth inning and Cal Muramaru and Jacob Maekawa drove in two runs apiece  to lead the Owls to a 15-3 win over the Buffanblu Friday night at Patsy T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park. Mid-Pacific, the top-ranked team in the ScoringLive/OC16 Baseball Power Rankings, improved to 5-0-1 to remain atop the league's Division I standings.

Just six days prior, the Owls rallied from a one-run deficit with nine unaswered runs in a 12-4 win over the Buffanblu. Bottom, a senior third baseman, batted 3 for 4 with three RBIs in that game.

"We weren't really trying to overdo it," Bottom said. "We were just trying to get our runners on and get them over — just trying to play small ball — but it came out in our favor, so I'm happy for that."

Tyler Yamaguchi led off the bottom of the sixth Friday by lining a double down the right field line. Jarrett Lum followed with a drive to deep left that was misplayed by Punahou's Bun Straton, allowing Yamaguchi to score the tying run. Matt Kimura then drew a walk and Bryce Nagata reached on an error to load the bases. Two batters later, Bottom hit a one-out, two-strike double to left that scored all three runners and put Mid-Pacific ahead for good.

"Because it was two strikes, I was just trying to get the ball in play and move the runners over," Bottom said.

Owls' coach Dunn Muramaru said the Yamaguchi double set the tone for the big inning.

"The hit by Yamaguchi was huge — because he hit the double, I didn't have to decide whether or not to bunt him over and take the bat out of Lum's hands — so when he hit that double, I was able to let Lum hit and he hit that other double to score the run and tie it up and then Bottom's hit with the bases loaded was huge," Muramaru said. "After (Cal Muramaru) struck out, that kind of changed the momentum a little bit and then Bottom just reversed it and everything else after that was pretty much gravy."

Bottom and clean-up hitter Noah Shackles, who reached on one of two Buffanblu errors in the inning, also came around to score to give Mid-Pacific an 8-3 lead.

Punahou fell apart in the top of the seventh, when it allowed seven more runs on three base hits. It used three pitchers in the inning and put four base runners aboard with walks and another on a hit by pitch. For the game, Buffanblu pitchers hit four batsmen.

Mid-Pacific batted around in both the sixth and seventh innings.

"It was a tight game all the way — it was kind of like the other game — they went ahead, then we caught up and they went ahead," Dunn Muramaru said. "It went back and forth. We kept walking the leadoff guy and that was kind of troublesome, but they came up with big hits.

Mid-Pacific used four pitchers. Alex Oley started and allowed one run on three hits in two innings of work. He was followed by Noah Sills, who surrended two runs on two hits in two innings. Grant Doi, who worked two scoreless innings in relief of Sills, picked up the win.

Cole Kanazawa batted 3 for 3 with an RBI and scored a run to lead the Buffanblu, who left eight runners on base, including three in the bottom of the fifth. Dylan Combs started for Punahou and went five innings allowed two runs on five hits.

It's a quick turn-around time for Punahou (1-4-1), which plays third-ranked Saint Louis at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at CORP. Mid-Pacific is off until Wednesday, when it takes on Saint Louis. The Crusaders (4-1) are currently in second place, just behind the Owls.