Hilo All-Stars coach Baba Lancaster saw one too many missed bunt signals from his ages 9-10 team, so he wanted to make sure the communication issues stopped during his postgame speech.
Hilo All-Stars coach Baba Lancaster saw one too many missed bunt signals from his ages 9-10 team, so he wanted to make sure the communication issues stopped during his postgame speech.
“I gave them an earful,” Lancaster said.
After riding Wailele Kane-Yates’ eight-RBI performance in its first game, Hilo took a step back Friday in a 10-1 loss to Pearl City, Oahu, at the state Little League tournament at Central Oahu Regional Park.
“We made too many mistakes, stranded too many runners,” Lancaster said.
Hilo will play either Aiea or Kaneohe of Oahu in an elimination game at noon Saturday in the five-team tournament.
Lancaster said Pearl City limited its mistakes and played fundamentally sound, the type of performance he’d come to expect from his team after watching it go undefeated in winning the island championship in Naalehu.
Xaige Lancaster started on the mound and left in the third with Hilo trailing only 1-0. For the second consecutive day, Lancaster used three pitchers.
Kane-Yates got the victory Thursday with three innings of work in a 21-2 victory against Aiea on Thursday, and he enjoyed a memorable day at the plate, going 4 for 4 with a pair of three-run triples.
Lancaster said his youngsters were enjoying Oahu – too much so, in fact.
“They’re excited about the go-karts and the water parks,” he said. “A lot of distractions. After the loss, I made sure they know they’re here to play baseball.”
PONY League
Hilo and Kona will meet in a pair of best-of-three island championships series at Old Kona Airport Park, beginning with doubleheaders Saturday.
The Mustangs (9-10) play at 11 a.m., with the winner advancing to a state tournament to be played on Maui from July 3-7.
At noon, the Broncos (11-12) play to try and join another Hilo team at states, which will be June 26-30 at Walter Victor Stadium.
Any Game 3s would be Sunday.