The Kawaihau Community Little League Major All-Stars battled back from a loss in their first game in the District 1 Major Division Tournament in Kanoehe on Friday, and won their second game on Saturday to stay alive in the tournament.
The Kawaihau Community Little League Major All-Stars battled back from a loss in their first game in the District 1 Major Division Tournament in Kanoehe on Friday, and won their second game on Saturday to stay alive in the tournament.
On Friday, Kawaihau played Kainalu, losing 10-0.
Jacob Planas was the starting pitcher for Kawaihau, pitching three full innings with four strikeouts. Alan Kahaunaele came in to pitch the last two innings, with one strikeout.
Hitting for Kawaihau were Jacob Planas with a single in the first, Harry Noone with a single in the third inning and James Noone with a single in the fourth. Shortstop James Noone made two outstanding catches in the third and fourth innings. Second baseman Aaron Villatora also made a great catch in the bottom of the fourth.
On Saturday, Kawaihau played Kailua, winning 6-4.
Harry Noone pitched a complete game for Kawaihau with eight strikeouts and giving up six hits. Kawaihau got on the board in the first inning with a single by Harry Noone, who scored from an RBI single by CJ Maglinti.
Kawaihau went up 4-0 in the second. Evan Lotu got on base after being hit by a pitch and Harry Noone got on base through a Kailua error. They came around to score from a two-RBI triple by Kaleo Kaui who also scored from a Kailua throwing error.
Kailua closed the gap in the top of the third inning, coming back to score three runs.
In the bottom of the third, Kawaihau scored another run, making the score 5-3. Travis Shigeta started the inning with a double and came around to score on an-RBI double by William Valente-Gonsalves.
In the top of the fifth, Kailua came back to score a run and came within a run of tying the game. They were denied by an outstanding defensive play by third baseman William Valente-Gonsalves, who fired a strike to first baseman Travis Shigeta to get the third out at first and prevented the tying run from scoring.
William Valente-Gonsalves also added a huge insurance run in the bottom of the fifth with a towering solo home run to left field. The entire team displayed a lot of heart and determination not to be eliminated. They will continue on in the tournament, playing Monday afternoon.
