One day after hitting a long ball at the state Little League tournament, Kaimana Kuamoo used a palm ball to deliver a gem on the mound.
Kuamoo’s effort allowed the Hilo All-Stars to get by with small-ball, putting them in the catbird seat at the Majors (ages 11-12) tournament at Puuiki Beach Park on Oahu, having already punched a ticket to Monday’s title game with a loss to spare.
Kuamoo flashed his full repertoire of pitches Saturday through five innings against defending champion Maui, mixing his off-speed pitch with two types of fastballs in a 2-0 victory.
Hilo won a pitcher’s duel against Maui’s Levi Maddela thanks to a rally that involved a hit, two passed balls and a blooper.
“We knew (Levi) was going to be tough,” Hilo coach Baba Lancaster said. “He plays with us on travel teams.
“We knew it was going to be a different type of game. Bunts, whatever works.”
According to the Maui News, Maddela is the only returnee from the Central East Maui team that won the 2016 state championship and reached the semifinals of the West Regional.
Hilo is one small step away from regionals, which is one large step away from the famed World Series in Williamsport, Penn.
On Friday in a 16-5 victory against Pearl City, Oahu, Joshua Ward and Kuamoo hit home runs to back Tyler Halemanu, who worked six innings on the first day of the four-team, double-elimination tournament.
The plan was for Kuamoo to go six as well, but he surpassed the maximum with 86 pitches, so Wailele Kane-Yates came on and struck out the side with 19 pitches to secure the save.
Like Kuamoo, Halemanu also will be unavailable Monday because of the pitch-count rule.
“That’s OK, I have pitchers left,” Lancaster said. “All the other teams have used up pitchers, too.”
In a addition to Kane-Yayes, among the pitchers Lancaster still has at his disposal is Ward, who earned the clinching victory at the District 4 tournament at Walter Victor Stadium. Hilo finished 3-0 at districts, outscoring its competition 55-10.
While Maui tries to battle back to the title game Sunday, Lancaster said Hilo would get in a practice before visiting Dave & Buster’s.
“We’re playing as a team,” Lancaster said. “Even when someone makes a mistake, no one is getting mad.
“We like where we are sitting.”
• In the state Minors tournament on Oahu, Hilo (1-1) staved off elimination Saturday and faces another must-win at 10 a.m. Sunday. The five-team tournament runs through Tuesday.
