Kamehameha rode a strong outing by starter Keenan Lum and hot hitting by Trey Kodama and Moku Kukonu to a 7-3 victory over Kaiser in the opening round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation Baseball State Championships at Les Murakami Stadium.

The Warriors put an early run on the board in the top of the first when the ball was knocked free from the catcher's mitt on a throw to the plate following a force out at third, allowing Alii Pedrina to score.

Kamehameha would put pressure on Kaiser starter Royce Kuromoto again in the second, putting runners at first and second with no outs. But the Cougars would get out of jam with a force out at third for the out number one, followed by a key double play to retire the side.

Unlike his escape from trouble in the second, Kuromoto would get touched up a bit in third, as the Warriors would connect for back-to-back-to-back first-pitch base hits.

A single to right by Trey Kodama would lead off the inning, followed by a double down the third base line by Alika McGuire, then a line shot to left by Moku Kukonu that brought home both Kodama and McGuire to give Kamehameha a 3-0 advantage.

The offensive onslaught would continue in the fourth inning, as the Warriors would send nine batters to the dish, scoring two runs off of a 2-run double by Jason Murakami, then third off of a Tyler Meditz single to center, and finally a sacrifice fly by William Young to extend the Warriors' advantage to 7-0.

Kamehameha starter Keenan Lum was lifted after four innings of work, giving up no runs off of two hits, striking out five and walking just one, replaced by Zach Kaohu in the fifth.

The early going was rough for Kaohu, who gave up a single to Michael Austin, followed by a hit batsman and then a walk to load the bases for the Cougars with just one out. Jake Torigoe would draw a walk following a strikeout to bring home Austin from third, which brought up Makana Lyman. The Cougars' catcher would come up with a clutch two-out, two-RBI single to left field, closing the gap to 7-3.

But the Cougars would not get any closer, failing to capitalize on a sixth inning mini-rally fueled by two Warrior miscues that left runners stranded on first and third.

A bright spot in relief for Kaiser was the performance of Kelan Yoshioka, who would pitch lights-out in his two innings of work, striking out five of the six batters he faced.

Kodama led the way for the Warriors from the two-spot in the order, going 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 2 stolen bases. Kukonu added a 2-for-3 night at the plate with 3 RBIs, and McGuire was also 2-for-3 with a double.

Next up for Kamehameha in the quarterfinals will be fourth-seed Baldwin, the MIL champions, in a 3:30 p.m. game at 'Iolani.

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