KAPA‘A — The Kawaihau Community Little League Majors All Stars will be on the field on Monday starting at 9 a.m. for the battle for the Hawai‘i Little League Majors District 1 title against the Kane‘ohe Majors at the Kawaihau Little League main diamond at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex.
With wins against the Kainalu Majors on opening day, and a win over the Kailua Majors on Saturday afternoon, Kawaihau sits on an 2-0 advantage over the Kane‘ohe Majors, which suffered a come-from-behind loss to Kailua on opening day.
Kane‘ohe advanced by eliminating Kainalu from district play on Saturday, and on Sunday relegated Kailua to third place in the district following a strong comeback effort by the Kailua redshirts in the final inning.
Kawaihau needs just one win to clinch the double-elimination tourney, and Kane‘ohe would have to beat Kawaihau twice to claim the title.
Trailing 9-3 with no outs in the sixth inning, Kailua pushed four runs across the plate before getting its first out. With the tying run perched on the base paths, Kane‘ohe relief hurler Caz Kashimoto picked up the second out on a swinging strike out, and followed that with the final out to give Kane‘ohe a 9-7 edge.
Kane‘ohe spread its scoring over five innings, pushing three runs home in each the third and fifth innings, and two runs in the fourth frame.
Leading the charge were Ryder Danz and Vonn Tavares, who conked a solo home run on Saturday, and Hala‘i Heffermann, who each scored twice. Ezekal Colunga and Lincoln LaBette each crossed home once.
Brede Carvalho was the sole Kailua runner to score twice. Others crossing the plate included Kamau Yojo, Isaac Wickes, Kingston Kapua, Max Gaspar and RT Medeiros.
Following the Hawai‘i Little League District 1 tournament, Kawaihau Community Little League will be hosting two state tournaments, including the 50/70 State title that will contest for the first time in five years at the Pony Baseball field at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex. The tournament for players 12-13 years old will contest July 7 through 10.
During the same time frame, Kawaihau will host the Seniors, or players 15-16 years old, state tournament, at the Ron Martin Field at Kapa‘a High School from July 7 through 9.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
