WAILUKU, Maui — Kale Ka'alekahi pitched a six-hitter with seven strikeouts and one walk yesterday and Campbell overcame an early 2-0 deficit to hold off Moanalua, 4-3, in the first round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation Baseball State Championships.

The O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up Sabers improved to 11-5 in the regular and postseason and will face No. 3 seed and Maui Interscholastic League champion Baldwin (13-1) in today's 7 p.m. feature quarterfinal at Iron Maehara Stadium.

Campbell and Ka'alekahi had lost to eventual champion, Punahou, in last year's first round after falling behind, 2-0, in the first inning.

"It feels a lot better this time," said Ka'alekahi, a hard-throwing, 6-foot-1, 175-pound right-hander who signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Hawai'i. "Especially since it's my senior year."

Moanalua (10-7) took a 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning after Ryan Cortez's RBI single to right field and Bronson Shim's run-scoring double to left-center.

The Sabers cut it to 2-1 in the second on Cole Nagamine's RBI single to right, then tied it in the third after Don Gallano led off with a single, advanced to second on a balk and scored on Robert Kahana's double to center.

Campbell took a 3-2 lead in the fourth after back-to-back one-out doubles by Nagamine and Jarren Maghamil, then made it 4-2 in the sixth as Benny Carino led off with a walk, pinch-runner Dalen Benz advanced to third on Gallano's single and scored on a delayed stolen base.

Meanwhile, Ka'alekahi retired 10 straight batters between the second and fifth innings and 13 of 14 until two outs in the sixth, when Cortez singled and then scored on Shim's triple down the left-field line. But Ka'alekahi got a grounder to first to end the inning and then allowed only a one-out walk in the seventh.

"He made the pitches and got ahead of our guys," Nā Menehune coach Scott Yamada said.

CAMPBELL (11-5) 011 101 0 — 4 10 0

MOANALUA (10-7) 200 001 0 — 3 6 1

Kale Ka'alekahi and Po'o Ka'alekahi. Kamalu Kamoku, Jacob Fukuyama (5) and Austin Inabata. W — Ka'alekahi. L — Kamoku.

Leading hitters — Campbell: Cole Nagamine 2-3, RBI; Don Gallano 2-3; Po'o Ka'alekahi 2-4; Robert Kahana double, RBI; Jarren Maghamil double, RBI; Michael Memea double. Moanalua: Bronson Shim 2-3, double, triple, 2 RBIs; Ryan Cortez 2-3.

Read his blog on high school sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com