COURTESY CINDY SAKAMOTO
Honolulu will head back to the West Regional on Aug. 8-14.
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Honolulu, the 2018 state champion, clinched a return trip to San Bernardino, Calif., for the Little League West Region Tournament after a dominant 9-0 victory in Game 2 of Tuesday’s championship doubleheader over Central East Maui at Dorvin Leis Field in Kihei, Hawaii.
Honolulu needed just one win in either of the day’s games to clinch the title for 11- to 12-year-olds, but 2019 reigning champion Central East Maui forced a winner-take-all game with a 6-1 win in Game 1.
In the first game, the Maui team scored three runs in both the second and third innings for an early six-run advantage. That was more than enough for starting pitcher Jayden Perry-Waikiki, who pitched five shutout innings. Honolulu managed a run in the top of the sixth.
But Honolulu left nothing to chance in the title game, bursting out of the gate with a two-run single by Kamau Passi in the first inning. Honolulu continued the scoring outburst, plating seven more runs the rest of the way, including a third-inning Ryan Keanu solo homer and a five-run fifth inning.
Micah Bennett went the distance on the mound for the shutout for Honolulu.
Honolulu will head back to San Bernardino for the West Regional on Aug. 8-14.
