Tyler Fujimoto went the distance for Moanalua, scattering four hits and two walks, while striking out three. Stanley Chun | Special to SL

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Moanalua's Tyler Uchiyama heads for home plate just ahead of the throw for the game-winning run against Kaiser. Stanley Chun | Special to SL

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Designated hitter Kristian Yap's ground single to center drove in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift Moanalua over Kaiser, 2-1, Wednesday at Moanalua.

The win moved the second-place Na Menehune (7-3) two games ahead of the third-place Cougars (5-5) in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red East. Both are chasing division-leading Castle (8-1).

But the story was Tyler Fujimoto's performance on the mound. He went the distance for Moanalua, scattering four hits and two walks, while striking out three. He allowed an unearned run in the first because of two errors. He pitched into and out of sixth- and seventh-inning jams, stranding five runners over those innings.

"He's our No. 1 guy," Moanalua coach Scott Yamada said of the right-handed Fujimoto. "In the end, I would want him on the mound. He would be a good closer if that was his role."

Yamada said Fujimoto's key was getting ahead in the count of the batters. But when he didn't...

"He battled everything," Yamada said. "He's a tough kid. He wants to be out there when the game is on the line."

Fujimoto said he had no command of his fastball, so he relied on his curve for his 'out' pitch.

"I was just losing it," he said. "It was going inside high and higher. I couldn't find the outside, so I just came back with the curveball."

Fujimoto and Kaiser starter Michael Austin were locked in a pitchers' duel. The finesse-pitching Austin allowed no runs, two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in five innings.

"Usually about five innings is his limit for us," Kaiser coach Mark Rasmussen said. "We had a 1-0 lead and Kelan's our best guy. I just wanted to to with our best guy at the time. You figure he was good for six outs. He did throw the ball well, but they got clutch hits."

He gave way to the hard-throwing Kelan Yoshioka, who started the game at third base and moved to left field in the fifth when right fielder Jake Torigoe suffered what appeared to be a hamstring pull while running out a grounder in the top of the fifth. (Starting left fielder Curt Clivio moved to right.)

But Moanalua's bats found life against Yoshioka.

With two out in the bottom of the sixth, Nicholas Enrico walked, stole second and scored the tying run on Fujimoto's ground single to center before Micah Nicely grounded out on a bunt to the pitcher to end the inning.

Kaiser threatened in the top of the seventh when Royce Narahara was hit by a pitch with two outs and pinch runner Ryan Wall took second on Jordan Simao's single to left. But Fujimoto got Makana Lyman to ground out to third to kill the threat.

In the bottom of the seventh, Tyler Uchiyama led off with a line single to right and stole second before Elijah Monis struck out. Casey Isa walked before Yoshioka ran a one ball, two strike count on Yap. Yap's single scored the speedy Uchiyama easily to end the game.

"The first pitcher (Austin) was good," said Fujimoto, who was 1 for 3 at the plate and robbed of a hit on a diving catch right fielder Jake Torigoe in the fourth. "The second pitcher (Yoshioka) threw hard; his off-speed was good, too, but I guess we just dialed it in more at the end."

The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Jake Torigoe led off by reaching on a fielding error by second baseman Kai Tachino. After Fujimoto struck out Simao, Torigoe went to second when Lyman grounded out to shortstop and scored when Yoshioka reached first safely on Tachino's throwing error before Austin flied out to center to end the inning.

Kaiser's biggest threat came in the sixth when it had runners at second and third with one out. But Austin, hoping to aid his cause, hit a screaming line drive right at Fujimoto for the second out. Aaron Oda drew a walk to load the bases, but Joey Torigoe grounded out to short to strand the runners.

"He changed speeds, went in and out," Rasmussen said of Fujimoto. "We had chances, but they just didn't work out. That's been us. Few games we've clutched up, a lot of games we haven't. Especially in the East side, it's all low-scoring games. Like we tell these guys, work out at practice the two-out base hits, try to get a single, try to score somebody. Just haven't been able to do it."