Williamsport, Pennsylvania >>
Central East Maui was explosive in the early stages of its two games at the Little League Baseball World Series.
The early surges gave Maui an early lead in both games. The offense flagged at times, but a combination of dominant pitchers helped finish things off. That was the case Friday, when Evan Tavares was again helped by an early lead to secure a 5-0 victory for Central East Maui over Great Lakes Region champion Hinsdale (Ill.).
The first two batters Tavares faced reached base, which only seemed to motivate the Little Leaguer more as he dialed in.
“I got angry,” Tavares said. “When I get angry, I throw harder and hit harder. That was pretty much the feeling of taking over.”
Tavares sharpened his focus and nullified that threat in the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead shortly afterward when Kanon Nakama singled to right in the bottom half to score a run. That lead grew to 2-0 when Jet Pontes worked a walk to bring home Gabriel Laloulu with the bases loaded in the third inning, and then to 4-0 when Tavares’ hard grounder went through the legs of the Hinsdale shortstop.
This ability to capitalize on mistakes was crucial for Maui.
“That’s the game,” said Central East Maui manager Daniel Bolduc. “Our last game put us in a bad spot. Walks and bad shots. We put pressure on their guys. Hey, a win is a win.”
Tavares struck out nine batters and gave up two hits over 51⁄3 innings, maintaining his streak of not allowing an earned run in the postseason.
“I realized I just had to keep throwing strikes,” Tavares said. “They weren’t catching up. I was just trying to hit my corners.”
Central East Maui is 2-0 in the LLWS and will play Mountain Region representative Paseo Verde of Henderson, Nevada at 9 a.m. Monday.
Tavares, who won Wednesday, will not pitch in this game. He reached the 65-pitch limit on his last at-bat, which Little League rules require Tavares to sit out three days. In Wednesday’s win, Tavares reached 35 pitches on his last at-bat, which rules require only a one-day rest.
Tavares stayed successful until the fifth inning, forcing two flyouts to center field on three pitches to open the inning. He struck out 62 pitches when the third fly ball to center field ended the inning with Central East Maui still leading 4-0.
Great Lakes turned to Frederick Sackley with one out in the fifth inning. He struck out the first two batters, then Matthew Yang’s second single loaded the bases for Central East Maui.
“I was just trying to get the ball up and in play,” Yang said. “I was just trying to hit something hard.”
Kamalei Leynes-Santos was the third batter to force a run, forcing Great Lakes, trailing 5-0, to pull him from the plate. Emiliano Nepomuceno came in and saved the day.
Tavares’ day ended in the fifth inning after he reached the pitch limit and got the first out. He finished with nine strikeouts and one walk.
“We left him in until the 65th throw,” said Bolduc. “We wanted two wins.”
Kellen Takamura replaced Tavares and forced two ground balls to get the save.
As good as Maui’s lineup has been in the first two games, Bolduc knows it can do better.
“Our whole team can hit,” Bolduc said. “I’m just waiting for that to happen.”
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East Central Maui 5, Hinsdale (Illinois) 0
Hinsdale (Illinois) 000 000—0 3 1
East Central Maui 103 01X—5 3 0
Dillon Phelan, Grant Wanless (3), Frederick Sackely (5), Emiliano Nepomuceno (5) and Shane Sehar. Evan Tavares, Kellen Takamura (5) and Matthew Yang.
WP: Tavares. LP: Phelan. SV: Kellen Takamura.
Great Lakes top hitters: Kellan Goodwin 2-2. Central East Maui top hitters: Matthew Yang 2-2; Gabriel Laloulu 2 runs.
Records: Great Lakes 0-1. Central East Maui 2-0.
Next up: Great Lakes vs. Midwest/Metro, Saturday, 9 a.m. Central East Maui vs. Mountain, Monday, 9 a.m.
Friday
Game 9 – Barquisimeto, Venezuela 10, Matamoros, Mexico 0
Game 10 – Central East Maui 5, Hinsdale, Illinois 0
Match 11 – Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei 11, Sydney, New South Wales 0
Game 12 – Lake Mary, Florida 6, Puyallup, Washington 1
Saturday
Game 13 – Guayama, Puerto Rico vs. Surrey, British Columbia, 7 a.m. (ESPN)
Game 14 – Sioux Falls, SD – Staten Island, NY, 9 a.m. (ESPN)
Game 15 – Brno, Czech Republic vs. Santa Cruz, Aruba, 11am (ESPN)
Game 16 – Salem, NH – Newtown, Pa., 1:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sunday
Game 17 – Hinsdale, Ill. vs. Sioux Falls, SD/Staten Island, NY, winner, 3 a.m. (ESPN)
Game 18 – Matamoros, Mexico vs. Guayama, Puerto Rico/Surrey, British Columbia, winner, 5 a.m. (ESPN)
Game 19 – Winner Salem, NH/Newtown, Pa. vs. Loser Puyallup, Washington, 7 a.m. (KITV)
Game 20 – Brno, Czech Republic/Santa Cruz, Aruba, winner vs. Sydney, New South Wales, 8 a.m. (ESPN)
Monday
Game 21 – Tokyo vs. Barquisimeto, winner Venezuela, 7 a.m. (ESPN)
Game 22 – Henderson, Nev. vs. Central East Maui, winner, 9 a.m. (ESPN)
Game 23 – Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei vs. Santa Clara, Cuba/Brno, Czech Republic winner, 11am (ESPN)
Game 24 – Lake Mary, Florida – Boerne, Texas, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN)
BABE-RUTH
13-U World Series
In Glen Allen, Virginia.
Friday
Semifinal
Hawaii New Era 10, Easton Youth (Mass.) 2
W – Desten Napierala Dias-Kaluna. S – Kamau Yo-yo.
Leading hitters – Hawaii New Era: Noah Kawakami 2-4, 3 runs; Xaeden Lopes 3 runs, 2 RBIs; Yojo 2-4, 2b, 4 RBIs.
Notes: Desten Napierala Dias-Kaluna pitched three hitless innings and Kamau Yojo pitched the final four innings against Easton. Yojo batted 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs and Noah Kawakami and Xaeden Lopes scored three runs each for Hawaii New Era.
Hawaii New Era (5-0) faces host Glen Allen, Virginia in today’s final at 7 a.m. (HST).
