They didn’t reach their ultimate goal of the world championship, but the Central East Maui Little League All-Stars had a summer they will likely never forget.

After a 4-3 loss in the final elimination game to Lake Mary, Florida, in the Little League World Series on Wednesday, the team finished the summer with a record of 15-4 – 4-0 in the District III tournament (Maui County), 5-1 in the state tournament, 3-1 in the West Regional in San Bernardino, California, and 3-2 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the LLWS.

The 13 players from Maui formed a team that was among the last eight in Williamsport and among the last four of the ten regional champions from the USA.

The team won six straight elimination games – three at state, two at the West Regional and one in Williamsport – until their remarkable run ended Wednesday with the tying run on third base.

“These guys fight until the end, until the last swing. This group of kids is incredible, they can never give up,” Maui manager Daniel Bolduc said by phone about 30 minutes after the last out.

This team is only the second from Maui to make it this far in traditional Little League for 10- to 12-year-olds, joining the 2019 group from the Central East Maui Little League that lost in the U.S. championship game.

“I’m excited for these kids, man, the experience here, this city, how they treat these guys, I mean, it’s just amazing,” Bolduc said. “Everyone here makes these kids feel like superstars. It’s crazy, signing autographs, taking pictures and the city. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”

The team consists of 13 players who come from four different middle schools – six attend ‘Īao Intermediate, four go to Kamehameha Maui, two come from Maui Waena Intermediate and one is from Lahaina.

The team includes Evan Tavares, Kolten Magno, Kanon Nakama, Kellen Takamura, Gauge Pacheco, Cam Kaneshiro, Eassie Miller, Jet Pontes, Matthew Yang, Brextyn Kamaha’o Hong, Hayden Takahashi, Kamalei Leynes-Santos and Gabriel Laloulu.

Tavares was the star pitcher who made waves in Williamsport, going 3-0 on the mound, not allowing a single earned run in 13 1/3 innings pitched, allowing just five hits and striking out 28 of the 50 batters he faced.

Yang was Maui’s best hitter with a .556 batting average, while Tavares hit .500, Takahashi hit .444, Hong hit .375, and Pacheco and Kaneshiro each had a .333 batting average in the World Series.

Tavares was especially effective Tuesday, recording 12 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings in a 3-1 win over Newtown, Pa. Nakama made the final out to score the save in that game and had the only RBI for Maui in the win.

Maui lost its first LLWS match on Monday, 3-2, to Henderson, Nevada, despite a total of five shots on the mound from Kaneshiro and Pacheco.

On Wednesday, Maui trailed 4-0 after three innings but fought back with three runs in the fourth. Pacheco was 2-for-2 at bat in the finale with a run and an RBI. Laloulu began the sixth inning with a double but ended up standing on third base.

Now it’s back to reality for the boys.

“You have to go to school now,” said Bolduc.

Like the 2019 Maui team, none of the coaches – Bolduc was assisted by Kevin Constantino and Ian Shimabuku – had children on the roster.

“We were with these guys the whole time,” Bolduc said. “I’m glad they took us on this journey and made us feel like we were superstars too. Everyone wanted to take a picture with us. Every day there were high fives on the way there. This place is incredible, it’s magical.”

Takahashi was back on the mound for the first time since the state tournament – ​​since then he had been limited to one pitch.

“The last thing you want is for one of these kids here to have regrets and say they could have done this or wish they had done that,” Bolduc said. “I’m just super proud of him for getting out of his comfort zone and doing it.”

This team continued a strong Maui youth baseball tradition, symbolized by the Maui and Baldwin high schools’ shared high school title in May.

“We always preach to them, even now before we get here, grade checks, I want to see your fourth quarter grades, especially the midterms, you know?” Bolduc said. “Because that’s super important, right? No grades, no play in high school. They have to be student-athletes, they have to be student-athletes. I think I maybe stress this too much with them, but they have to understand that they have to get good grades. Without that, none of this is possible.”

Bolduc said this group has created lifelong memories and can be proud of what they have accomplished.

“They’re a little sad that they lost, but I told them, ‘Don’t be down, you’re in the top four (in the country), you fought until the end, you have nothing to be ashamed of, guys,'” Bolduc said. “‘You were incredible.'”

Bolduc runs an auto repair shop in Kahului and has to go back to work. His oldest son, Logan, 15, is a student in Baldwin and his youngest son, 10-year-old Jacob, was with him in Williamsport. Bolduc said he will personally never forget the experience.

“Oh man, it’s super hard to say goodbye,” he said. “I’m pretty sure we’ll have little get-togethers when we get back to Maui. We’ve spent so much time with these kids and the families and now we’re one big family to me. It’s just great.”