Leadoff hitter Colby Hirano scored two runs and had a double in the Chargers' 8-3 win over the visiting Sabers. CJ Caraang | SL

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CJ Caraang | SL

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PEARL CITY – Although the score does not indicate it, but the second time around proved tougher for No. 1 Pearl City, which beat Campbell, 8-3, Wednesday.

The host Chargers (8-0) batted around in a five-run first inning to stay undefeated and in first place in the Oahu Interscholastic Association West. The Sabers (3-5), who lost to the Chargers, 4-2, in the first round, battled offensively, but left 11 runners on base, including the bases loaded twice.

"Going into the second half of this season, especially this game, we kept talking to the kids, keep telling them, the second time around, guys are going to be able to get a beat on us," Pearl City coach Gavin Concepcion said. "I don't think their record dictates what type of team they are. I would guess some things haven't gone their way, but they can play D (defense), they swing the bat. (Trenton) Darley wasn't on top of his game and those guys let us know early. They did what they needed to do to compete, it's just more things went our way. We knew coming into this game, Campbell was going to give us all they've got. We got out of here with a ‘W,' so we're happy with that."

The Sabers are going through growing pains of trying to replace last year's senior-laden state championship team. This was their second game that they had double-digit hits. They just labored with scoring the runners with consistency.

"Hopefully with the work the boys put in, we can fix that before the end of the season," Campbell coach Rory Pico said. "We're seeing progress. We struggled at the plate at the beginning of the season. We're getting more hits now; we just have to find that next level of driving them in"

Darley (5-0) entered the game having allowed only five hits in 14 1/3 innings. The Sabers got 11 hits off Darley, but only managed two runs. He pitched six innings and was charged with two runs, one earned and struck out two. Cade Halemanu pitched an eventful seventh, walking two and hitting a batter, but an error helped a run score a run.

Campbell starting pitcher Dylan Florentin (0-1) faced only eight batters, retiring one, in the Chargers' big first inning. But Jaimin Kalaola settled the game with five strong innings. He retired 14 of the first 16 batters he faced, until struggling in the sixth, when the Chargers scored three to cushion their lead.

"The talk has been that Campbell lost a lot of guys from last year, which they did," Concepcion said. "But from the first game to now, every arm brought in has been a guy who can compete and that's what (Kalaola) did. He competed in that one, he forced us to put the ball in play. When pitchers do that, whether it be us or the opposing team, that's what you want. He did an absolute great job of coming in, settling in, keeping them in the ball game. Big credit to him."

Kalaola, a sophomore, threw 52 pitches through his first 4 2/3 innings before allowing a triple, double and two singles in the Chargers' three-run sixth.

"He threw well," Pico said. "He was around the plate with his off-speed stuff. (The Chargers) were able to bunched five or six (hits) in the first inning; they hit the ball. (Kalaola) was able to keep them off-balanced, keep the barrel off the ball."

With so many runners on base and only three scoring for Campbell, that meant some nice plays by the Chargers, albeit they committed three errors. In the top of the third, Jordan Macias led off with a single. Roy Clemons reached on a fielder's choice grounder to short that Macias beat on the attempted force play. Darley's pick-off attempt at first was wide, allowing the runners to take third and second. After Bronson Burr flied out to right, as the runners held, Dylan Ramon his medium liner toward the right-side hole that second baseman Colby Hirano made a diving stab to his left. He got up to double-off the runner at second, stranding the other runner at third.

"It looked like (the batter) kind of got jammed," Hirano said. "I kind of slipped. I heard my right fielder and my first baseman yelling, ‘2,' so I just threw it to second."

Matt Yokota continues to sting the ball for the Chargers, batting 3 for 4. Sam Prentice was 2 for 4 with an RBI double and Trestan Nakamura was 1 for 2 with a triple.

The Sabers had two batters with three-hit games. Leadoff hitter Shane Shimizu was 3 for 4, as was No. 3 hitter Jordan Macias, who also had two steals.