Confident and in control, reliever Kelly Meguro pitched Mid-Pacific deep into the game.

And capitalizing on some uncharacteristic errors by Saint Louis, Mid-Pacific pulled off a key win.

Mid-Pacific jumped out to a big lead, then had to hold off a late rally to beat Saint Louis, 9-5, in an Interscholastic league of Honolulu baseball game yesterday afternoon at Damon Field.

"I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be," said Meguro, who entered in the third and threw four innings. "I felt I had to go in and do my job, do what I have to do to help the team out."

The Owls, ranked third in The Advertiser's Top 10 poll, improved to 11-3, and 5-1 in the ILH second round with two regular-season games left.

The No. 2 Crusaders (14-2, 6-1 ILH second round), who won the ILH first round, cut into a 9-3 deficit in the top of the seventh and trailed 9-5 after Jordan Kahalekai-Bermoy's two-out, two-run single to left field. Meguro, who did not give up a hit until the seventh inning, was relieved by freshman Marcus Doi.

"We were hoping they would stay in control, keep their composure because we needed base runners," Saint Louis coach George Gusman said.

With runners at the corners, Doi got pinch hitter Dallas Tuumalo to pop out into foul territory where first baseman Ryan Muraoka made the catch to end the game.

"I guess I was running out of gas," Meguro said. "The coaches were telling me my pitches were opening up a little bit.

"I felt confident, (Doi) is a good pitcher. I thought he could close it out well with one more out."

Mid-Pacific scored five runs in the first inning. With two outs, Jordan Obata hit a two-run double to the center-field fence that made it 3-0. Obata scored on Cy Higashi's RBI single that made it 4-0 and Tyler Nishimoto scored from third on a passed ball.

Saint Louis' Kaeo Aliviado hit a two-run homer in the top of the third to cut the deficit to 6-3. Several batters later, Meguro entered the game, keeping Saint Louis batters in check until Moses Samia singled to lead off the seventh.

"I felt my pitches were pretty legit," Meguro said. "Fastball, change-up, slider were working pretty well."

The Owls scored three runs off five uncharacteristic Crusader errors in the bottom of the sixth.

"We were in position to make plays and we didn't execute," Gusman said. "What's disappointing is we practiced all the stuff we messed up on today. That's my fault."

SAINT LOUIS (14-2, 6-1) 012 000 2—5 9 5

MID-PACIFIC (11-3, 5-1) 510 003 X—9 8 1

Kalei Contrades, Noa Siegfried (2) and Moses Samia. Lawrence Chew, Kelly Meguro (3), Marcus Doi (7) and Dane Fujinaka. W — Meguro. L — Contrades. S — Doi.

Leading hitters — Saint Louis: Kaeo Aliviado 2-4, 2-run homer; Jordan Kahalekai-Bermoy 2-2, 2 RBIs; Moses Samia 2-4. Mid-Pacific: Jordan Obata double, 2 RBIs.

PUNAHOU 6, 'IOLANI 5

Michael Suiter scored the winning run on an error by the left fielder with two outs in the bottom of the eighth as the Buffanblu beat the Raiders at Ala Wai Field.

With Suiter at second and David Eldredge at first, Kainoa Crowell hit a ball to left field, which was not caught.

Punahou's Ryan Yamane hit a two-run double in the seventh to tie it at 5-all.

'IOLANI (8-5) 021 200 00—5 5 2

PUNAHOU (10-4) 101 100 21—6 10 5

Jarrett Arakawa, Sheldon Lee (4) and Tiras Koon. Jacob Ellis, David Eldredge (3), Alaka'i Aglipay (5), Zachery Muenster (6) and Reece Toma. W — Muenster. L — Lee.

Leading hitters — 'Iolani: Kila Zuttermeister homer, 2 RBIs; Koon homer. Punahou: Michael Suiter 2-3, 3 runs; Aglipay 2-3; Eldredge double; Rick Nomura 2-4; Jeremy Ioane 2-4, double; Ryan Yamane 2 RBIs.