Softball Game Preview: Punahou Buff n' Blue vs. 'Iolani Raiders

The Punahou Buff n' Blue will head out to challenge the 'Iolani Raiders at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Punahou has seven straight victories, 'Iolani has five straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Punahou is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Hawaii's top teams: Kamehameha Kapalama, who was ranked seventh at the time (Punahou was ranked second). Punahou sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 4-2 win over Kamehameha Kapalama on Thursday. The four-run effort marked the Buff n' Blue's lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Paige Brunn tossed a big game, pitching six innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits. She also put up five walks, which were her first of the season.

On the hitting side, Taryn Ho was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Sydney Capello, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and two RBI.

Punahou hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now struck out at most one strikeouts in four consecutive contests.

For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when 'Iolani and Maryknoll meet (four straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Thursday. 'Iolani fell 11-7 to Maryknoll.

Punahou pushed their record up to 7-0 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for 'Iolani, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.

Everything went Punahou's way against 'Iolani in their previous matchup on March 12th, as Punahou made off with a 12-1 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Punahou since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.