LBL’s Da Bash tournament kicks off

Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island

The Maui Sandlot Mustang division second baseman takes the throw on a stolen base attempt by the Rockies’ Kalai Sahut following Sahut’s 2-RBI single in the first inning of an LBL Da Bash matches at the Lihue County Park.

Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island

The Lihue Rockies’ Trey Nakamura faces a Maui Sandlot batter, Saturday during one of the LBL Da Bash’s matches in the Mustang Division at the Lihue County Park.

Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island

The Sox shed their shoes and take to the path connecting Hardy Street with Umi Street, Saturday between games at the LBL Da Bash taking place at the Lihue County Park.

Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island

Kamahoi Ka‘ahanui and Kolaiah Villa of one of the Maui Sandlot get in bunt practice, Saturday while a game featuring the Kryptonite from Anahola goes on in the background at LBL Da Bash at the Lihue Countyi Park.

Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island

The Cubs’ Camden Barba lays down a bunt in an attempt to score base runner Lo‘ea Pantohan from third against the Lihue Pirates, during one of Da Bash contests, Saturday at the Lihue County Park.

LIHUE The Lihue Baseball Leagues Da Bash tournament opened under cooling breezes with a full slate of games Saturday morning at the Lihue County Park.

LIHUE — The Lihue Baseball League’s Da Bash tournament opened under cooling breezes with a full slate of games Saturday morning at the Lihue County Park.

Games are being contested on the Main Diamond, the Pinto and Pony fields and features at least a dozen teams in the Bronco division broken down into three pools — the red, blue, and gold.

“We have the big potluck luau Saturday night,” said Bradley Chiba, president of the Lihue Baseball League. “This used to be the luau with the movies in the park, but it’s now the potluck paina where everyone can get to know each other better. It’s about hospitality and taking care of our guests.”

The dozen-team Bronco division features out of town teams from the Maui Sandlot, Hoomau, Mililani and Kawainui, a team visiting from Kailua, Oahu.

They go up against Kauai island teams including the Lihue Braves, Waimea, Kapaa, Koloa, Kalawai and Hanapepe.

Games between the Kauai squads started as early as Thursday when Hanapepe marked the Blue pool with a 13-3 win over Kalawai.

Over at the Isenberg Park, Waimea proved to be a 10-0 winner over the Lihue Braves in a Thursday nightcap, and Koloa dropped 5-3 against Kapaa in a Friday night meeting.

Koloa dropped its second game Saturday morning when the Southside players suffered a 9-4 loss at the hands of Hanapepe.

Ten teams make up the Mustang Division, playing in the Red and Blue pools. These include a Maui Sandlot team, the Hanapepe Cubs, Kapaa, Kryptonite from Anahola, the Kalawai Dodgers, the Kalawai Whitesox, and four teams from the host LBL.

Play continues Sunday from 8 a.m. with the final games starting at 2:45 p.m. The Bronco division championship will pitch from 11 a.m. Monday at the Main Diamond. The Mustang Division championship will throw from 9 a.m., Monday at the Mustang field.

There is no admission assessed to view the competition, and LBL is hosting a food booth and concession stand with tournament gear and memorabilia.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.

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