Tavares dazzles as Hawai’i becomes first LLWS U.S. team to 2 wins

Central East Maui (HI) became the first team on the United States bracket to reach two wins on Friday, dispatching Great Lakes Region’s Hinsdale (IL) Little League, 5-0, behind a dominant display from left-handed pitcher Evan Tavares. 

Getting the start on the bump for the second straight game, Tavares worked into trouble in the opening stanza as Hinsdale put the first two batters on with a walk and a single to right field. The tall left-hander settled down quickly for Hawai’i, cutting down the lead runner at 3rd base for the first out after a ground ball back to him before striking out the next two batters for Illinois.  

The Hawai’i offense was active early for the second consecutive game as well, scoring the first run of the day in the bottom half of the 1st inning with Kanon Nakama’s one-out RBI single to right field to score Tavares. 

Central East Maui’s Tavares continued to work in the top of the second, striking out the side to bring his total to five in just six outs. He added two more Ks in the top of the third as he retired his 7th, 8th and 9th straight batters after the leadoff walk and single. 

The offense added some breathing room for their ace in the bottom half of the third, using patience to score after a single and three walks brought Hawai’i’s second run across home plate. Tavares helped himself out with a rocket ground ball that trickled into center field that brought home two more runs as the West’s representatives took a 4-0 lead. 

Hawai’i tacked on one more run in the bottom of the 5th inning as Kamalei Leynes-Santos got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Tavares gave way to Kellen Takamura for the final two outs as Central East Maui took down Hinsdale, 5-0. 

Evan Tavares finished with a final line of 5.1 innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out nine Illinois batters over 65 pitches to pick up his second win of the tournament. Three different batters recorded RBI for Hawai’i while Tavares’ two-run grounder was ruled as an error by the shortstop.  

West Region representative Hawai’i advances to the United States winner’s bracket-side quarterfinals against Mountain Region representative Nevada on Monday at 9 a.m. HT. Nevada was a 9-1 winner over New York on Thursday in the opening game for both teams. 

Due to pitch count rules at the Little League level, Tavares will be ineligible to pitch for Hawai’i on Monday as he is subject to three days of rest after his workload on Friday.