LIHU‘E — Baseball went outside the diamond, Wednesday morning.
Players from the Lihu‘e Youth Baseball Mustang All-Stars were all on hand well before the start of the Kaua‘i County Council meeting where they were recipients of commendations from both the county council as well as Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. who declared July 15 as “Lihu‘e Mustangs Day.”
“They each had to write up what they were going to say,” said coach Rory Ellamar. “They each have their little pieces of paper on what they are going to say when they get their turn at the microphone.”
That preparedness impressed councilman Jay Furfaro who noted that above the accomplishments the players achieved on the baseball diamond, they also passed Speech 101 because of what they had done ahead of time.
The Lihu‘e Mustangs All-Stars were honored for winning the state Protect Our Nation’s Youth Mustang Championships, July 15.
In that game, Lihu‘e edged out the Kalanianaole Athletic Club 13-9, its second win over that club, for the state title.
Councilman Derek Kawakami, author of the commendation certificate, said this group of 9 and 10 year olds made history by winning the state PONY Mustang Championships for the Lihu‘e program, based on information he received from PONY officials.
There have been other Kaua‘i Mustang teams taking state titles, including one back in 1977 that included a lot of players that are currently coaching at both the community and high school levels.
Lihu‘e, under the coaching of Rory Ellamar and assistant coaches Kevin Gokan and Vincent Killeen, started their climb to the title with a 9-7 win over Aiea. The team followed that with a 9-2 win over KAC, a 5-4 battle over Hilo and closed, undefeated, with the 13-9 championship win.
With the win, the Lihu‘e Mustangs All-Stars prepare for the West Zone Tournament in Chino Hills, Calif., July 28-Aug. 3.
A successful showing at that tournament moves the team directly to Texas for the Mustangs World Series.
Part of the preparation for the West Zone Tournament include four scrimmage games with the Lihu‘e Bronco All-Stars at the Main Diamond.
“The field has been measured out to the specifications of the Zone tournament fields, and we’re playing the bigger boys so the team gets used to playing against bigger players,” said Tom Vallatini, former Lihu‘e Baseball League president and father of player Gunner Vallatini.
Other players on the team include Brayden Abreu, Kekai Leanio-Balagat, Kobey Dias, Patrick Esteban, Tayedyn Francisco, Blaise Gokan, Jace Ilae, Chase Ibia, Keala Iwasaki, Jared Killeen, Douglas Miyasato, Sam Nakata, Nicholas Penzetta, and Vallatini.
Taddy Penzetta is the team’s manager. Brandee Abreu and Casey Kealoha are the team parents.
