KAPAA — Joshua Canose hit a homerun in the fourth inning to give Aiea a 5-4 win Friday at the New Kapaa Town Park Main Diamond. The game was the opening match for the Hawaii Little League Minors State Championships
KAPAA — Joshua Canose hit a homerun in the fourth inning to give Aiea a 5-4 win Friday at the New Kapaa Town Park Main Diamond.
The game was the opening match for the Hawaii Little League Minors State Championships hosted by the Kawaihau Community Little League.
“The Minors division only play up until the state championships,” said tournament director Bob Kawamoto, a longtime Little League official who watched the game from the shade of the scorer’s booth. “The state championships for the Minors is a warm up for the players in preparation for the Majors division.”
In the Majors division, the winner of the state tournament advances to the regional tournament with the winner of the regional tournament advancing to the Little League World Series.
Vanessa Cummings, a parent with the Kawaihau Majors, feels this might be the year for the Kawaihau Majors All-Stars.
She was helping other team parents with fundraising shave ice sales to help with the team’s upcoming post-season games, which include the District playoffs next week.
Kawamoto said this year’s Majors state tournament will be played at the Kilauea Field on Oahu, adjacent to the Kaimuki Middle School.
For the Minors state tournament, Kawaihau Community Little League is hosting five teams with a doubleheader played Friday.
Canose broke a 4-4 deadlock in the fourth inning to give Aiea the 5-4 edge over Kihei of Maui in the opening game. The win comes on seven hits generated by Aiea bats, including Canose’s solo homerun, a 2-RBI double from Kedey Shojinaga, who also marked a single in the win. Braysten Gushiken had an RBI single.
Kihei opened early, capitalizing on the Aiea mound with Shane Taylor, pinch running for Kobe Galinato, walking and scoring on a bases-loaded walk. Jayden Collins, also walking first, scored the second run on another bases-loaded walk for the 2-0 lead, which was broken in the bottom of the frame. The Aiea pitchers gave up four walks and a hit by pitch. It also recorded a strike out.
Aiea answered in the bottom with four runs on three hits, including doubles by Gushiken and Shojinaga and a single from Michael Kawasaki.
Kihei came back to knot the contest in the fourth inning with two runs on four hits, including an RBI single from Bode Woodward and an RBI double from William Gleed, scoring Alan Vigneux, singling first, and Blair Wyland, also singling first.
But Aiea answered with Canose’s solo homer in the bottom of the frame.
Aiea, by virtue of its win over Kihei, will face the Kaneohe Maroon squad at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The Friday nightcap featured Waipio taking on Kona Coast, the winner advancing to a Saturday bye to play Sunday at 1 p.m., Doug Fujii of Lihue dropping in on the park to watch his grandson play with the Waipio squad.
The semifinals of the Minors division take place at 4 p.m. Monday with the championship game starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the New Kapaa Town Park Main Diamond.
• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
