Bula Ahuna may be slumping with the bat, but he only needed one pitch to get they Hilo Pony 13s where they wanted to go Whittier, Calif.
Bula Ahuna may be slumping with the bat, but he only needed one pitch to get they Hilo Pony 13s where they wanted to go Whittier, Calif.
Relieving with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday, Ahuna induced a game-ending double play to preserve Hilo’s 12-11 victory against Riverside, Calif., at the PONY West regional.
Hilo will play Chula Vista, Calif., in the championship game at 3 p.m. HST on Monday. Each team ran through its side of the bracket 3-0.
Asked if his team was enjoying Southern California away from the ballpark, coach Bully Ahuna said, “No fun, all business.”
That’s because most of his players are used to playing in PONY regionals. In fact, Stone Miyao and Maui Ahuna are playing in California for the third year in a row.
But they’ve never been to the World Series, a trip Hilo can clinch Monday.
“We were lucky to get 12 runs, because we made six errors and a lot of base-running mistakes,” Bully Ahuna said.
Though with Miyao, luck doesn’t seem to be part of the equation. Miyao continued his torrid play with another three-run double – he had two on Saturday – and drove in five RBIs.
Miyao has had an eventful summer. He played on a Big Island team that won a title at the Firecracker Classic in Southern California, and he was one of three Big Islanders (along with Joey Jarneski and Micah Bello) who were on team that won the crown at a USA Baseball tournament in Goodyear, Ariz.
“I don’t think Stone has been in Hilo since June,” Bully Ahuna.
Dayson Moses started for Hilo and Devin Midel provided solid relief before running into trouble in the fifth.
With Hilo in a jam in the seventh, Ahuna handed the ball to his nephew, who promptly induced a tailor-made grounder to short that Miyao and Maui Ahuna turned to into a 6-4-3 double play.
Little League
Isaiah Souza and Lee Souza hit home runs in Waimea, and Maui eliminated Hilo with 17-2 victory at the state tournament for ages 11-12.
Mason Galima homered for Hilo.
“The kids played hard, but we didn’t play like we did at districts,” coach Dennis Segovia said.
Koa Ogawa took the loss for Hilo, while Isaiah Souza earned the win for Maui, which faces Kaneohe, Oahu, at 3 p.m. Monday to try and join Waipio, Oahu, in Tuesday’s championship game.
Waipio remained unbeaten with a 5-3 victory against Kaneohe. Vance Oshiro and Trey Ana-Purcell each had two hits in back of winning pitcher Cayden Okada.
Kela Harbottle drovee in two runs for Kaneohe, while Josiah Texeira took the loss.
LP: Josiah Texeira
2hits: Wao Vance Oshiro 2 hits Trey Ana-Purcell 2 hits
12-11loed thr all the way