Honolulu juniors strike gold
Aug. 11—Honolulu capped a dominant run Thursday with a 12-0 victory over Dublin, Calif., in the final of the Little League Junior West Regional (13-14) in Bend, Ore.
Honolulu, which finished 4-0 and outscored its opponents 50-2, qualified for the World Series in Taylor, Mich., which starts Sunday.
"The pitchers threw strikes and were able to get outs early in the at-bats and keep their pitch count low, and all of the hitters hit the ball," Honolulu manager Kevin Bagoyo said.
Honolulu will not stay intact for the World Series because some of its players also compete in the Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth organization, which will have its Babe Ruth 13U World Series in Glen Allen, Va., starting Saturday.
Honolulu had 13 players for the regional but will be down to 11 in Taylor, Bagoyo said. The team will add one player, but will lose Eli Iopa, Levi Perry and Peyton Shimokawa to the Babe Ruth event.
The Babe Ruth team, the OBRL Hawaiian Islanders, is managed by Rob Iopa, the father of Eli Iopa and an assistant under Bagoyo this past week.
The Islanders qualified for the World Series by winning July's Pacific Southwest Regional in Taft, Calif.
Despite the splitting up of talent, Bagoyo believes Honolulu and the OBRL Hawaiian Islanders should contend for the titles at their respective World Series.
"I'm confident both teams will be able to compete and bring home the championship on both sides," he said.
Kaikea Patoc-Young allowed one hit and one walk over 41/3 innings, and Perry retired the final two batters against Dublin in a game shortened because of the mercy-rule.
Honolulu didn't score over the first two innings, but got three in the third, five in the fourth and four in the fifth.
"We had a slow start this time around, but when the bats came alive we were able to score in bunches," Bagoyo said.
In the third, Perry hit a sacrifice fly, Noah Chong scored on a wild pitch and Hayden Ajimine-Dela Cruz came in on a squeeze bunt by Shimokawa.
Honolulu took an 8-0 lead in the fourth on Chase Kawakami's run-scoring single, Patoc-Young's RBI double and AJ Wida's three-run double.
In the fifth, Iona Uyehara had a two-run triple, and Iopa and Kawakami had RBI singles.
Honolulu also defeated Dublin 8-0 on Sunday.
Honolulu's victory Thursday ensured five team members will be playing in their second Little League World Series. Zack Bagoyo, the manager's son, Micah Bennett and Patoc-Young participated in the 2021 World Series in Williamsport, Pa., while Daly Watson and Brennan Tomas (the player added to the World Series roster) competed in the 2022 tournament.
The 2022 Honolulu team won the World Series, while the 2021 squad finished third. Bagoyo and Iopa were assistants under manager Brandon Sardinha on the 2021 squad.
