'Iolani improved to 6-1 in the ILH, while the Buffanblu fell to 5-1. Punahou plays at first-place Mid-Pacific (7-0) at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

"This was a good win for our confidence, and also because they're our rivals," said Taniguchi, a junior right-hander. "Ever since we lost to Mid-Pac in the first (ILH) game, we've been trying to build our way back."

The Raiders gave Taniguchi ample support with the five-run third, highlighted by Ula Reis-Moniz's two-run double, Kirstyn Namba's squeeze bunt, Mari Fujimoto's RBI infield single and a run-scoring double from Kaitlyn Shikada.

They made it 6-0 in the fourth on Alex Masaquel's monster solo home run over the center field fence.

"We played them on Kaua'i (in the Waimea Invitational), so we knew they could do that," Punahou coach Bob Makahilahila said of 'Iolani's offensive power. "We tried to keep the ball low, but with this wind it was harder and we got some balls up. But they're a good hitting team, all the way through the lineup."

The Buffanblu finally got on the board in the fifth after Jaci Young led off with a double, advanced to third on Kaylin Okuma's groundout and scored on Vanessa Va'a's sacrifice fly to left field.

Punahou threatened again in the sixth, when Reina Furuya and Nicole Tamura led off with back-to-back singles, but Taniguchi got All-State shortstop Mysha Sataraka to pop up to short and the Raiders then turned a 6-4-3 double play to escape the jam.

"Punahou's lineup is strong, they have power and they put pressure on you -- you just get the feeling like they're going to rally," 'Iolani coach Chris Shimabukuro said. "But the big difference today was Nalani and our defense. She was able to dig deep and got herself out of trouble, and our defense was able to make plays."

Fujimoto went 3 for 3 and Reis-Moniz went 2 for 4; Sataraka and Young each went 2 for 3.