Kawaihau 50/70s a step closer to World Series

The Little League 2015 Intermediate 50/70 World Series in Livermore, California is just one game away for the Kawaihau Community Little League Intermediate 50/70 team. 

Kawaihau, top-seeded in Pool A with a 3-1 record, improved its record and advanced to the championship game of the West Region Tournament at Fleischer Field in Nogales, Arizona on Monday by defeating Summerlin, Nevada 20-0 in the semifinals.

“We still need to play one more game,” said Kawaihau head coach Justin Malina. “People have been saying Pool A has the strongest teams, but with baseball, you still have to play the game. We still have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Keoua Sibayan threw a one-hit shutout in Monday’s win. The game was shortened to five innings on the 10-run ruling.

Nainoa Cardinez had a home run and a double and Kaimi Malina whacked two triples.

“Pretty much, the entire team was hitting today,” Malina said.

Northern California plays Washington in the other semifinal game. Kawaihau plays the winner of that game in the championship. The winner moves on to the World Series in California.

Kawaihau got off to a rocky start at the regional tournament, dropping the opening game to the defending champion Nogales team, 12-2 on July 20.

With a day to recover, Kawaihau defeated Oregon 19-1 on July 22. Kawaihau picked up its second win on July 24 by beating Southern California 9-0. It closed pool play Saturday with a 10-1 win over Washington. This gave Hawaii the top seed in the A Pool heading into the playoffs.

Kawaihau is poised for the West Regional Tournament championship with the first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Hawaii time.

The game will be streamed live on livestre.am/59GFA.

“We appreciate all the support we’ve gotten from Kauai,” Malina said. “We might be an ocean away, but I’m sure the boys can hear all of the cheering and feel the support from home.”