HONOLULU — For one night, Greyson Osbun brought order to the wild and chaotic Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball race.

The Kamehameha junior right-hander came within one out of throwing a no-hitter in a key 2-0 victory over Saint Louis at Central Oahu Regional Park on Thursday. He faced two batters above the minimum.

“We got his best performance to date this year, when we needed it the most,” Warriors coach Daryl Kitagawa told Spectrum News in a phone interview Friday morning. “He knew – the team knew – what was on the line.”

Kamehameha ended the ILH regular season in a three-way tie with Iolani and Mid-Pacific atop the standings at 10-4 and prevented Saint Louis (9-4) from winning the first round outright. Benny Agbayani’s Crusaders play Maryknoll at Ala Wai Field at 9 a.m. Saturday for a chance to end the 14-game regular-season in a highly unusual four-way tie for first.

“You know what, since I was playing, which was 37-whatever years ago, up until this point, I don’t ever recall having a four-way tie at the end of the regular season,” Kitagawa said. “This is uncharted territory from what I understand.”

Whether it is three teams or four, there will be a combination of playoff games on Monday and Tuesday with matchups and sites to be determined to settle the first-round title and the first of the ILH’s three state berths.

Perhaps speaking to the Warriors’ focus on their ultimate goal of repeating as state champion, neither Osbun nor the team’s dugout knew he was so close to completing a no-hitter until after the fact.

Osbun struck out Sean Yamaguchi on three pitches to open the seventh. Kolby Gushiken then fouled out near first base.

But Saints designated hitter Kamakani Kane singled through the gap in left on an 0-1 count. Pinch hitter Hoko Gaspar subsequently struck out looking.

“I was going into that last inning just looking to win the game,” Osbun told Spectrum OC16’s Jimmy Bender. “I gave up the hit and then I’m like, ‘man, I feel like that’s the first hit I’ve given up.’ I just had to go back to work and get the next guy.”

There was not much discernably different about Osbun to begin the game, Kitagawa said.

“The thing about him, he’s always pretty calm. But underneath, there’s a fire in his belly and that’s what we love about him,” the coach said. “He wants the ball in crucial situations. He wants to compete against the best. And to have a performance like that was a credit to him, his preparation, his mentality and his skill level.”

Kamehameha broke through in the fifth when Kaulana Quinlan got hit by a pitch, then advanced to third on a throwing error toward first base. Jayden Montero brought him home with a single to right. The Warriors shortstop then stole second and third and came home on a throwing error.

Kamehameha was not assessed an error while Saint Louis committed three.

Osbun (4-0) issued two walks against seven strikeouts. In his televised postgame interview, he didn’t come across as too disappointed about the narrowly missed individual achievement.

“He was kind of … staying in the moment, not even worrying about other things outside of just making quality pitches and so forth,” Kitagawa said. “Bummer he didn’t get it, but I know for sure what his intentions are as a person as a player – to get that team win versus individual (accomplishment). I feel that way too and I tell my pitchers that all the time.”

Osbun has generated some interest at the next level, Kitagawa affirmed.

For the moment, the player's attention is locked in on what promises to be compelling competition over the next few days.

“It’s going to be electric. This is what it’s all about,” Osbun said. “Going into next week I think we’ve got a great chance of taking it all. We’ve got a great pitching staff, great defense that showed out today. And the offense came up huge in the fifth. I think we’re looking good so far.”

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.