With four teams advancing to West Zone, Hilo PONY League’s season was an unqualified success; three Gold Coast Little League softball teams recently competed at West regionals; and the Hawaii RBI softball team is set to start its World Series journey in North Texas.
But the busy summer for local youth ballplayers and their mainland travels didn’t end there. Don’t forget about Dizzy Dean Baseball.
Ask Corey Matsu’s 11-year-olds from East Hawaii what they did for the summer, and they’ll likely tell you all about their trip to the World Series in Mississippi. If the Deep South wasn’t on the travel radar for Big Islanders before, it is now.
“The people were excellent,” Matsu said. “We really enjoyed it.
“A lot of (good) eating when we weren’t playing.”
Hawaii made a big impression off the field last year in their first trip to Southhaven, so World Series organizers had a special request this time around.
“We got invited back to perform the haka at an opening ceremony,” Matsu said.
On the field, Hawaii traded wins and losses and finished 2-2. Boston Matsu secured one victory with a walk-off hit, and Wailele Kane-Yates hit a grand slam in the other to highlight a 24-4 TKO victory in which Xiah Kanae pitched a complete game.
“Honestly, the competition was close,” Matsu said. “There wasn’t much of a difference between going 0-4 and 4-0.
Hawaii earned the right to represent the state by defeating another team from East Hawaii, but Matsu hopes Dizzy Dean can grow to the point that there will be enough teams from other islands to participate in a state tournament.
Between PONY, Little League and RBI, there is no shortage of youth baseball leagues. Players such as Kane-Yates play in more than one, and Matsu says the baseball community is thriving to the point where it can support them all.
“It’s great for Hilo and it’s great for the families because it gives more players an opportunity,” Matsu said.
RBI on deck: West Region champion Nobu Yamauchi is making its seventh World Series appearance in the past nine years. The eight-team tournament starts Thursday in the Dallas area.
