Florida ends Hawai’i hopes of Little League World Series U.S. title game appearance

The electric run by Central East Maui (HI) in Williamsport, Pennsylvania came to a close on Wednesday afternoon as the West Region representatives fell in the U.S. elimination bracket’s semifinals to Southeast Region’s Lake Mary (FL), 4-3. 

Unable to start star left-handed pitcher Evan Tavares, Hawai’i turned to Hayden Takahashi on the mound to open action. The right-hander struggled with control, walking five batters as Florida scored three runs (two earned) in two innings against the starter for the West’s team. 

Kamalei Leynes-Santos was tagged with the loss after he provided two innings of relief for Hawai’i, allowing a run while striking out three. Matthew Yang tossed the final two frames for Central East Maui, striking out four Florida batters while holding the potent offense quiet for a comeback chance for his own squad. 

After falling down 4-0, Hawai’i scored three runs in the bottom of the 4th inning with the help of a Gauge Pacheco RBI double, an RBI fielder’s choice by Brextyn Kamaha’o Hong that was bobbled by the shortstop and an RBI single by Yang.  

The West Region squad brought the tying run 60 feet from home with one out in the bottom of the 6th inning before Florida’s Luis Calo slammed the door on the comeback try with a swinging strikeout and groundout to 2nd base. 

The loss in the elimination bracket by Central East Maui ends the dazzling run of Tavares, who struck out 28 out of 50 batters he faced in three games and held opponents to a .109 batting average against. The Hawai’i team held opponents to a .176 batting average as a whole throughout the tournament. The two losses for Central East Maui each came by one run.

Lake Mary (FL) will play Paseo Verde (NV) on Thursday with a spot in the United State championship game on the line.