Kailua High School left-hander Rob DeMarsh's afternoon did not start well on the mound yesterday, as he lasted only four batters in the bottom of the first inning against Kaiser — giving up two singles and two walks, the second walk with the bases loaded.

But given a second chance to contribute as a hitter upon re-entry in the top of the fifth inning, DeMarsh came through with a one-out, two-run double to right field. An inning later, after being inserted into right field, he slammed another RBI double to give the Surfriders the lead for good en route to a 10-7 victory.

The win at Kaiser lifted Kailua, ranked No. 5 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, to 10-2 and first place in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's Eastern Division at the close of the regular season. No. 10 Kaiser fell to 8-4 and third in the the East.

Kailua will receive a first-round bye in the OIA playoffs, which begin on Wednesday.

"(The first inning) was tough, but the most important thing was to not get down, to stay positive," DeMarsh said. "I knew I would have a short hook because we needed this win, but I was just missing it. I wasn't sure if I would have another chance to go back in, but I knew I had to be ready just in case."

Bryson Gaute relieved DeMarsh and retired the next three batters to keep the damage to 1-0, but the Cougars made it 3-0 in the second on Dustin Dela Pena's two-run homer over the center-field fence.

The Surfriders tied it in the top of the third inning on Scott Talaesea's three-run, line-drive homer over the fence in right-center, but Kaiser answered with two runs in the bottom half after Landon Tamanaha's sacrifice fly and Zach Wong's RBI single to center.

The Cougars then made it 6-3 in the fourth after Cal Tashiro doubled, advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored on Joe Honma's sacrifice fly to left.

But Kailua capitalized on four hits and two errors to score four runs in the fifth to take a 7-6 lead. An errant throw on DeMarsh's double advanced him to third, and he scored on Bobby Lastimosa's infield single.

Another error on that play advanced Lastimosa to second, and he scored on Reyn Matsuki's single.

"We needed to make a couple plays and couldn't get it done," said Kaiser assistant Vinny Bedoya, who was filling in for head coach Peter Ho, who was away on family business. "We rely on our defense and we usually make those plays. But Kailua is tough, they battle all the time."

The Cougars tied it one last time at 7-7 in the bottom of the fifth, after Jaymes Kawashima led off with a double, advanced to second on Tamanaha's sacrifice bunt, to third on Wong's groundout to short and scored on a two-out infield error.

But the Surfriders took the lead for good in the sixth, when Ryan Kinoshita led off with a single, advanced to second on an error and scored on DeMarsh's line double to left-center. DeMarsh then scored on Jordan Limahai's single to left to make it 9-7.

Kailua added a run in the seventh on Kale Sumner's RBI double to left field.

Surfriders coach Corey Ishigo said DeMarsh normally would be inserted into right field after being taken off the mound, but this time he wanted to make sure he was in the right frame of mind.

"I wouldn't have put him back in if he didn't have a good attitude," Ishigo said. "But I talked to the other coaches in the dugout, and they said he was positive."

KAILUA (10-2) 003 042 1—10 12 4

KAISER (8-4) 122 110 0— 7 8 3

Rob DeMarsh, Bryson Gauthe (1), Alika Ramseyer-Ho (4) and Keenan Tanaka; Pono Meyer, Shotaro Saito (5), Zach Wong (6) and Bryce Marcoullier. W — Ramseyer-Ho. L — Wong.

Leading hitters — Kailua: Scott Talaesea 3-3, home run, 3 RBIs; DeMarsh 2-2, two doubles, 3 RBIs; Jordan Limahai 2-2, RBI; Kale Sumner double. Kaiser: Dustin Dela Pena 3-4, home run, 2 RBIs; Cal Tashiro 2-4, double; Jaymes Kawashima double.

CASTLE 11, MCKINLEY 0

Keola Jarrett allowed no hits and faced the minimum 15 batters as the host Knights (8-4) rolled over the Tigers (0-12) in a game shortened to five innings because of the 10-run rule. Jarrett struck out three. Kainoa Tom went 3 for 4 with two triples, two RBIs and two runs scored for Castle.

MCKINLEY (0-12) 000 00— 0 0 4

CASTLE (8-4) 313 4X—11 10 0

Kelsen Ganeku and Cody Reyes. Keola Jarrett, Kainoa Tom (5) and Coby Agres. W — Jarrett. L — Ganeku.

Leading hitters — Castle: Tom 3-4, 2 triples, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Josh Serrano 2 RBIs; Bryan Raines 2-3, double; Ikaika Wise 2 runs.

Reported by Chad Uyehara

RED WEST

'AIEA 10, KAPOLEI 3

Randy Castillo earned the win on the mound and went 4 for 4 at the plate, falling a triple shy of the cycle, to lead Na Ali'i (8-4) over the host Hurricanes (3-9). Castillo hit a three-run home run, doubled and had two singles.

'AIEA (8-4) 103 123 0—10 17 3

KAPOLEI (3-9) 200 001 0— 3 5 3

Randy Castillo, (5) Blane Higa, (7) Keenan Naeole and Carson Tsuruda. Oliver Taoy, (4) Michael Sanchez, (7) Kalani Omoto and Brandon Damas. W — Castillo. L — Taoy.

Leading hitters — 'Aiea: Tyler Abasial 2 runs; Jaran Iwane 2-4; Naeole 2-4, double, 2 runs; Kanekoa Asing 3-4, 3 runs; Castillo 4-4, double, 3-run homer, 2 runs, 4 RBIs; Travis Nishida double. Kapolei: Trenton Nakata double.

Reported by Tom Ebanez

WAI'ANAE 5, CAMPBELL 4

Quintin Tiapula had a two-run double and R.J. Tacgere-Bailey went 2 for 2 and scored twice as the Seariders (7-5) beat the visiting Sabers (7-5). Allyn Oliva-Respicio went 3 for 3 with a double for Campbell.

CAMPBELL (7-5) 003 100 0—4 8 1

WAI'ANAE (7-5) 103 010 X—5 8 3

Charles Kaalekahi, Kia Kapana (6) and Keanu Kapana. Kalei Hensley, Ben McQuown (7) and R.J. Tacgere-Bailey. W — Hensley. L — Kaalekahi.

Leading hitters — Campbell: Allyn Oliva-Respicio 3-3, double; Keanu Kapana 2-4; Everett Pico 2-3. Wai'anae: Tacgere-Bailey 2-2, 2 runs; McQuown double; Quintin Tiapula double, 2 RBIs.

Reported by Kekoa Kaluhiokalani

PEARL CITY 3, MILILANI 2

Carlton Tanaba drove in two runs to lead the Chargers (10-2) over the Trojans (3-9) at Central O'ahu Regional Park. Andrew Benitez went 2 for 3 for Mililani.

MILILANI (3-9) 000 110 0—2 8 1

PEARL CITY (10-2) 210 000 0—3 4 3

Dustin Antolin and Kellen Miyasato. Micah Nakasone, Chace Numata (5), Kahana Neal (7) and Carlton Tanabe. W — Nakasone. L — Antolin.

Leading hitters — Mililani: Andrew Benitez 2-3; Jay Yoshizawa double; AJ Pearson double; Joey Aquino double. Pearl City: Tanabe 2 RBIs.

Reported by Gary Nakamoto

OIA SOFTBALL

CASTLE 5, KALANI 0

Alana Abbey went 2 for 4 and drove in two runs and Chandelle Dacosin pitched a four-hitter as the visiting Knights (8-3) beat the Falcons (1-9) in an OIA Red East softball game. Kristi Belshe went 2 for 3 for Kalani.

CASTLE (8-3) 111 110 0—5 12 1

KALANI (1-9) 000 000 0—0 4 3

Chandelle Dacosin and Kelsea Berinobis. Chelsea Yamamoto and Kristi Belshe. W — Dacosin. L — Yamamoto.

Leading hitters — Castle: Leisha Liilii 2-4; Ryanne Dacosin 2-3, triple; Alana Abbey 2-4, 2 RBIs; Kaitlynn Wills 2-3. Kalani: Belshe 2-3.

Reported by George Okada

Read Wes' blog on prep sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com.