Lihu‘e Mustang All-Stars ‘heart’ earns state title

LIHU‘E — The Lihu‘e Youth Baseball Mustang All-Stars finished the state tournament undefeated Sunday to clinch the state title with a 13-9 win over KAC on O‘ahu.

“It wasn’t a walk in the park,” said LBL President Kyle Oshima who joined parent supporters in greeting the championship team upon their return at Lihu‘e Airport. “The boys worked hard and earned every victory.”

Coach Rory Ellamar couldn’t be sure Monday, and neither was Tom Vallatini, former president of the Lihu‘e Baseball League and one of the team’s parents.

“I checked with Kaua‘i Region Director Mark Domingcil and Kaua‘i Section Director Dondi Viquelia, but they couldn’t be sure, either,” said Vallatini. “I asked Warren Koga, former LBL president who felt sure it was a first. They were certain that this was the first time a Kaua‘i team has won a state Mustang championship.”

Vallantini said the road to the championship started with a 9-7 win over Aiea, followed by a 9-2 win over KAC, a 5-4 edge over Hilo leading to the championship game Sunday.

There, they edged out KAC 13-9 to lock up the championship.

Brayden Abreu paced the Lihu‘e defense with a strong showing on the mound, going the distance against Aiea and then combining with Blaise Gokan to close the championship game, Vallatini said.

In between, Gokan went the distance against KAC in Lihu‘e’s 9-2 win, and against Hilo, Patrick Esteban and Jared Killeen combined to hold the Big Island team.

“That was one outstanding game,” Vallatini said. “It was the bottom of the fifth, or sixth, and we had just put Killeen in. The bases were loaded and there were no outs.”

Killeen got the first batter to pop up, the shortstop made this unbelievable catch on an infield fly, turning his body around and catching the ball, Vallatini said. The second batter facing Killeen struck out and the third grounded out leaving three on base and preserving the win.

“The boys were also hitting, one through nine,” Vallatini said. “Against KAC, Gunner Vallatini was 3-3 with a double and two singles. In the second KAC match, he again went 3-3, and scored three times.”

Nick Penzetta demonstrated his quickness on the basepaths with an in-the-park homerun during the second KAC game, Vallatini said. Penzetta finished 2-3 and also scored three times.

“Abreu did an outstanding job on the mound,” Vallatini said. “He never faltered and kept mowing ‘em down when he had to.”

Coach Rory Ellamar, enjoying his second year coaching the Mustangs, said this was a hard-working group of boys.

“They practice hard, they work extremely hard,” Ellamar said. “I’m proud of them because it shows what hard work can do.”

Team players include Abreu, Kekai Leanio-Balagat, Kobey Dias, Esteban, Tayedyn Francisco, Gokan, Chase Ibia, Jace Ilae, Keala Iwasaki, Killeen, Douglas Miyasato, Sam Nakata, Penzetta, Kapena Texeira, and Vallatini. Joining Ellamar are assistant coaches Kevin Gokan and Vince Killeen. Team moms include Brandee Abreu, Casey Kealoha and Taddy Penzetta.

Vallatini felt that the recent Da Bash tournament hosted by LBL did a lot to prepare the boys for the state tournament.

“There were times when we were facing teams that weren’t used to the tournament atmosphere of a lot of people, and they couldn’t close the door,” Vallatini said. “But our boys already had the tournament experience and simply dug in.”

Oshima said the boys have a lot of heart and he is hopeful the lessons they learn on the baseball field carries them through life.

“They know how much they have to dig in when thing’s aren’t going right,” Oshima said. “And they’ve dug in and pulled off wins. That’s how life is — when things aren’t so good, you need to dig deep.”

With the state championship, the Lihu‘e Mustang All-Stars head to Chino Hills, Calif., for the West Zone tournament July 28-Aug. 3, Viquelia said.

“If they get past that tournament, they head to Texas for the Mustang World Series the following week,” he said. “They don’t have time to come home. They go straight to the World Series.”

• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com