Leadoff hitter Cole Cabrera sprints for first base after a hit. He scored the first run of the game for the Buffanblu. Michael Lasquero | SL

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ALA WAI — Third-ranked Punahou used a strong start against Iolani to end a two-game losing streak, 4-1 at Ala Wai Field Thursday afternoon.

The Buffanblu jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the first inning and never looked back as they improved to 5-3 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I standings.

"They came out with the right intensity and they prepared well," Punahou second-year coach Keenan Sue said about his team.

Easton Takamoto batted 2 for 3 and drove in two runs in the bottom of the first to help Punahou maintain the lead throughout the entire contest. In three of the team's five wins, the Buffanblu trailed after the fifth inning.

"In the meeting yesterday with the team, we all talked about how were trailing and how we came back — but we told ourselves that we wanted to start off hot, get the run, stay ahead and step on the gas pedal after that," said Takamoto.

Senior left-handed pitcher Noah Goss scattered four hits across six innings to notch his second win of the year before Riley Guieb came in for the save.

Iolani (2-7) got into a bind early as losing pitcher Trevor Ichimura walked Punahou leadoff hitter Cole Cabrera and Goss on consecutive at bats. After Codey Kitagawa struck out swinging, Cabrera scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the game.

"That kind of set the tone and put us behind the 8-ball and we had to fight back from that," said Iolani associate head coach Charles Nakagawa.

Cleanup hitter Jerick Nomura got on base with a walk before Takamoto's line drive to center plated courtesy runner Michael Viola and Nomura to make it 3-0 in favor of Punahou.

Takamoto also had a double and scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to add some insurance to the Buffanblu's lead.

"The great thing about Easton is he's what you would call a gamer," Sue said on Takamoto. "He's a laid back, fun loving kind of guy, everybody loves him, he's kind of a joker, but when he gets between the lines, he generally does the job. He has the right mentality to be able to have a consistent performance."

Iolani was able to generate some offense in the top of the fourth inning thanks to back-to-back hits by Matt Campos and Everett Lau to begin the stanza. Campos scored on the next at bat, but not before Landen Moran grounded out into a double play.

The Raiders threatened Punahou's lead in the sixth when they tinkered the lineup and loaded the bases with one out. However, the Buffanblu was able to get a forced out at home and get the last out at second one batter later to get out of the frame.

"First inning we gave up a lot of walks that put them ahead. We stuck with them throughout the whole game for the most part. We had our moments in the sixth inning, but it just didn't work out," said Nakagawa.

Lau went 2 for 2 at the plate with a double to lead the Raiders' offense.