Two RBI baseball teams from Hilo, the Juniors and Senior teams, won the West Region titles in their age division Sunday in Compton, Calif.
With the wins, both Hilo teams have earned a trip to the RBI World Series, Aug. 1-6 at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla.
The Juniors (ages 13-15) came from behind to win its championship Sunday over a team called the Angels.
Hilo trailed 7-0 after a three-run fourth inning. According to team dad Chris Gomes, Noah Palea put in a solid four innings on the mound, but errors and missed opportunities led to the early deficit.
Hilo scored three in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull within four runs. Braden Gomes had a single and some Angel errors contributed to the Hilo score.
In the sixth, the comeback continued with two runs. Jaydon Geraci and Keagan Pacheco started the rally with back-to-back singles, followed by an error. Gomes drove in two with a single.
Caleb Wada pitched the fifth through seventh innings in relief, giving up just one run and keeping Hilo in the game.
Hilo entered the seventh and final stanza trailing 7-5.
Palea and Gavin Nishida drew back-to-back walks, while Geraci was hit by a pitch with one out. With the bases loaded, Pacheco singled to right, with Palea and Nishida crossing the plate to tie the game.
Tyesen Tamiya then hit a hard grounder to the second baseman, who didn’t field it cleanly. On the play, Cole Silva tried to score but was thrown out at home by the right fielder.
Gomes then hit a walk-off single to right to score Pacheco and win the championship.
After the championship banner presentation and picture taking, the team went to Dodger Stadium to see the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants.
No information was received on the Senior (ages 16-18) team’s victory.