Maui Wins Two Times to Claim Little League State Title

It looked like Kaneohe Little League would make history on their home field.

For the first time, Hawaii State Little League would crown its West Region representative at Alice Hewett Field. It seemed like a good omen. The last time Kaneohe won the state tournament was in 1982. Head coach Colby Kashimoto played on that team. They were one win away from a fairytale finish in Heeia.

Central East Maui, a team that had already defeated Kaneohe, needed two wins Sunday to steal the show and advance to San Bernardino, Calif., from the losers’ bracket. The Maui players likely knew little or nothing about the magnitude of the moment for their opponent.

So they made it their own, 21 runs later.

Maui won 13-0, 8-2, despite a period of dominance that left Kaneohe powerless in the hunt for what should have been a historic championship.

“We basically told them this is the end,” Maui head coach Daniel Bolduc said of his message to the team after they were relegated to the losers bracket.

“These young boys, if they get the right mindset, to fight, to compete, to never give up, then all of these boys are going to be successful in life. That’s baseball. … We just (told them) if you quit today, you might quit tomorrow. So keep fighting until the end.”

When Kaneohe ran away with a 5-2 victory over Maui in the semifinals of the winners’ bracket, Evan Tavares didn’t pitch. Kaneohe had no answer for him when he did in Sunday’s first match.

According to Bolduc and Kashimoto, the entire Maui team benefited from his success.

“I really think they play differently when Tavares isn’t on the mound,” Kashimoto said.

The Maui southpaw ace recorded all 15 outs via strikeout en route to a five-inning shutout. He may have thrown a handful of offspeed pitches throughout the game. His fastball, which Kashimoto regularly said reached the equivalent of 94-98 mph off an MLB mound, seemed as close to untouchable as humanly possible. Kaneohe had just three hits with an extra baserunner that Tavares walked.

Compare that to a Maui offense led by Kanon Nakama-Ribao’s two multi-RBI home runs and Tavares’ grand slam, and you get a run-rule performance.

“I just want to eliminate every player,” Tavares said.

The 45-minute rest period before the second game did not affect Maui’s momentum.

It hit after hit, amid loud cheers that poured in during a five-run first inning. Kaneohe didn’t help himself with some early defensive errors.

With Cam Kaneshiro on the hump, Maui was in prime position. Kaneshiro didn’t pitch nearly as fast as Tavares. But that was the idea, Bolduc said. The contrast was stark, and Kaneshiro mustered some whiffs with his offspeed repertoire. He completed four scoreless innings and struck out eight Kaneohe batters.

Maui’s 6-0 lead with two innings to go was fatal for the home team, which had struggled to generate offense all day.

Kaneohe added two runs in the final two frames, one of which came on an error.

“We played a very, very strong team,” Kashimoto said. “They have some shutdown pitching. They have a lot of fire, and that’s what they need when they move to the mainland. … They have a chance to make the World Series. I really think they do.”