Tournament Results:
Day 1 (Friday, August 6):
Ocean View (Southern California) 10, Mountain Ridge (Nevada) 3
Day 2 (Saturday, August 7):
Washington (Utah) 11, Mountain Ridge (Nevada) 6
Napa National (Northern California) 6, North Scottsdale (Arizona) 4
Ocean View (Southern California) 2, Waipio (Hawaii) 1
Day 3 (Sunday, August 8):
North Scottsdale (Arizona) 11, Washington (Utah) 4
Waipio (Hawaii) 4, Napa National (Northern California) 1
Day 4 (Monday, August 9):
Ocean View (Southern California) 22, Washington (Utah) 0 (5 innings)
Waipio (Hawaii) 4, Mountain Ridge (Nevada) 3
Day 5 (Tuesday, August 10):
Mountain Ridge (Nevada) 8, North Scottsdale (Arizona) 7
Napa National (Northern California) 5, Ocean View (Southern California) 4
Day 6 (Wednesday, August 11):
Napa National (Northern California) 7, Washington (Utah) 2
Waipio (Hawaii) 7, North Scottsdale (Arizona) 0
Standings |
W |
L |
Runs
Allowed |
| Waipio (Hawaii) |
3 |
1 |
6 |
| Napa National (Northern California) |
3 |
1 |
14 |
| Ocean View (Southern California) |
3 |
1 |
9 |
| North Scottsdale (Arizona) |
1 |
3 |
25 |
| Mountain Ridge (Nevada) |
1 |
3 |
32 |
| Washington (Utah) |
1 |
3 |
46 |
The top four teams advance to the semifinal round.
Ties are broken based on records in head-to-head competition among tied teams. If a clear winner cannot be determined from head-to-head results, the tie is broken by calculating the ratio of runs allowed to defensive innings played for all teams involved in the tie. The team with the lowest runs-per-defensive-inning ratio advances.
In the event of a tie involving three or more teams, once the initial tie is broken, the remaining tied teams are again compared on head-to-head record to determine if a clear winner can be identified. If no clear winner can be identified from head-to-head results among the remaining tied teams, the runs-per-defensive-inning ratio is again used. This process is repeated until all ties have been broken.
West Region Tournament Semifinals (Friday, August 13)
Ocean View (Southern California) 5, Napa National (Northern California) 2
Waipio (Hawaii) 12, North Scottsdale (Arizona) 2 (4 innings)
West Region Tournament Championship Game (Sunday, August 15)
Waipio (Hawaii) 4, Ocean View (Southern California) 1 (TITLE)
Summary:
When Waipio Little League (Waipahu, Hawaii) dropped its opening game during pool competition at the West Region tournament in San Bernardino, California, manager Brian Yoshii didn't dwell on the loss.
"Great game," said Yoshii after Ocean View Little League (Huntington Beach, Southern California) edged the Hawaiians by a 2-1 margin in a marquee matchup played before more than 10,000 spectators. "There are some areas of improvement we can make. Our best baseball is ahead of us."
Eight days later, when the same two teams met in the championship game, Waipio made good on its manager's prediction.
Waipio scored four times in the top of the fourth inning to erase an early deficit, and defeated Ocean View, 4-1, to win the West Region championship at Al Houghton Stadium. With the win, Waipio returned to the Little League World Series for the second time in three years, and the third time since 2001. Once in South Williamsport, Waipio fought through the bottom bracket of its pool, and rebounded from an opening game loss to win the United States championship.
Waipio missed a pair of opportunities to grab early leads in its title game rematch with Ocean View, stranding two baserunners in the second inning and leaving the bases loaded in the third. And though Ocean View plated the game's first run when ninth-place hitter Michael Gates drove a two-strike pitch over the left field fence in the bottom of the third, Yoshii saw positive signs in his team's effort.
"We knew our opportunity would come," said the Hawaii manager. "We were hitting (Ocean View's pitcher) and getting him off-balance, making him throw a lot of pitches. We knew eventually we would get to him."
Waipio's breakthrough came in the fourth, when they converted an inning-extending defensive miscue into four runs. Noah Shackles and Justice Nakagawa walked to open the frame, then Shackles was thrown out trying to score on a bunt attempt. Matthew Campos hit what looked like a potential inning-ending double play grounder to the first baseman, but after the initial throw to second, the return throw to first base was in time but wild. Nakagawa scored to tie the game, and Campos advanced to third on the play. Leadoff hitter Kaho'ea Akau followed with a walk, and Ty DeSa's one-hopper bounced oddly and glanced off the Ocean View third baseman's glove and into left field, allowing Campos to score the go-ahead run. Shiloh Baniaga then provided insurance, lifting a fly ball to right field that fell in for a triple and plated Akau and DeSa.
"I'm just so happy for the kids," said Brian Yoshii. "They've had all these goals on a whiteboard, crossing them off. Now, they can cross off going to Williamsport."
It's an exercise that has become increasingly familiar to Waipio. In addition to their Little League World Series championship in 2008, the Hawaiians won the Northwest Region tournament and advanced to South Williamsport in 2002. With the 2010 region championship, Waipio became just the eighth U.S.-based league in the 64-year history of the international tournament to reach the Little League World Series three times in a ten-year span. Just two other leagues have matched that feat in the past quarter-century: Toms River East American (New Jersey) Little League during the 1990s, and Louisiana's South Lake Charles Little League after the turn of the century.
One big factor in Waipio's title game win was the pitching of Shackles, who struck out nine and held a powerful Ocean View lineup to just four hits in an 83-pitch complete game effort.
"He was good," said Ocean View manager Tod Minato after the game. "I think we're a good hitting team, but if you can pitch a complete game with 83 pitches against us, you've done a great job."
"They are an awesome team," said Brian Yoshii of Waipio's title game opponent. "We knew it would be a battle, and it was a great game."
Waipio saw first-hand how powerful Ocean View could be earlier in the tournament, when the Southern California champions prevailed in the teams' pool matchup. Ocean View starter Steven Gingery struck out seven over 5-1/3 innings, and did not allow a run after Akau drove the third pitch of the game over the right field fence for a leadoff home run in the first inning. It marked the first home run allowed by Gingery in the international tournament.
Ocean View tied the game in the bottom of the inning, when Chad Minato drew a one-out walk and later scored on Hagen Danner's single, and the Southern California champions moved in front when Gingery opened the fourth by lining a pitch over the right field fence.
Waipio had the potential tying run thrown out at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Tyler Kishima tried to score from first base on an overthrow following Shiloh Baniaga's bunt attempt. But right fielder Hunter Jackson's relay to Danner was in time, and Pouelsen then registered the game's final out to preserve Ocean View's victory.
Baniaga took the loss in the game, despite allowing just three hits and a pair of walks in four innings of work.
Waipio managed just five hits against Ocean View, and produced just six hits in each of their next two pool matchups. But the Hawaiians received stellar pitching throughout the tournament, and converted their limited offensive opportunities while producing a pair of victories that clinched a semifinal round berth. Waipio pitchers allowed more than four hits just once in six games in San Bernardino, and held opposing hitters to a collective .188 batting average in the regional.
Shackles helped Waipio to claim its first win at the regional, throwing a 78-pitch complete game in a 4-1 victory over Northern California's Napa National Little League. Napa National pitcher Gabriel Reyes held Waipio scoreless through three innings, but departed the mound after his pitch count reached 50 on Dane Kaneshiro's leadoff single in the fourth. Kishima then deposited the second offering from Napa National's reliever over the center field fence to give Waipio a 2-0 lead it would never relinquish.
Jake Rasmussen halved the Hawaii advantage with a run-scoring single in the fifth, before Kishima walked and Baniaga delivered a two-run homer in the sixth to complete the scoring.
"It was never in doubt," said Northern California manager Kyle Rasmussen on the decision to switch pitchers when the game was scoreless. "We didn't want to push Gabe. He hasn't thrown 50 pitches in a month."
"He was very efficient," said Brian Yoshii after Shackles held Napa National to three hits in the game. "How many kids can throw a complete game in 78 pitches like that?
"We needed the win," added the Hawaiian manager, whose team moved into a jumble of teams bunched with 1-1 records through the tournament's first two days. Waipio then separated itself from the crowd, edging Mountain Ridge Little League (Las Vegas, Nevada) in a 4-3 decision that, combined with other results, helped Hawaii to clinch a semifinal round berth.
Kaneshiro paced the Hawaiian team in the win, striking out nine hitters and holding Mountain Ridge to two hits in five innings before switching positions.
"The pitching, again, was excellent," said Brian Yoshii. "Dane was able to hit his spots."
Waipio also chose its spots offensively, capitalizing on a throwing error to score twice in the fourth inning and then converting two errors into a run in the fifth.
"That was our game to win," noted Nevada manager Larry Quaney, Jr. "Our pitching was stellar, but our defense killed us."
Although Waipio had clinched a semifinal round berth, there was much at stake in the team's final pool contest against North Scottsdale (Arizona). A win would place Waipio in a three-way tie with Ocean View and Napa National with 3-1 pool records, and Waipio would finish as the top seed and avoid a semifinal round matchup with the two powerful California teams if they held North Scottsdale to two runs or fewer based on Little League Baseball's run per defensive inning tiebreaker.
North Scottsdale, meanwhile, needed to hold the Hawaiians below nine runs or they would lose a tiebreaker for the fourth and final semifinal round berth.
Baniaga made sure Waipio clamped down on the Arizona team, throwing 4-1/3 scoreless innings and allowing just four hits as Waipio blanked North Scottsdale, 7-0. Baniaga allowed only one hit after the second inning, and jump-started the Hawaii offense with a two-run homer in the first inning.
"It's all this guy," said Brian Yoshii of his pitcher after the game. "He did a great job. He was one of thirteen guys and he came out to play today."
Ke'olu Ramos drilled a solo home run to give Waipio a 4-0 lead in the second inning, forcing Arizona manager Joe Forster to throw his best pitcher, Dylan Cole, in extended relief duty to keep the Hawaiian scoreline down. Cole succeeded, but his 70-pitch effort meant he was not eligible to throw in the semifinal round rematch. Waipio took advantage, clubbing five home runs, including four in the first inning, and routing North Scottsdale by a 12-2 score.
"When they hit like that, they're an extremely hard team to beat," said Forster after the semifinal round contest. "But with the length of the tournament, the health of our arms just ran out. But the kids never quit.
"I was put into a different position of trying to coach for survival," said the Arizona manager of his need to use Cole in extended duty during the teams' first meeting. "I had to put Dylan in to stop the bleeding."
Brian Yoshii got home runs from Akau, DeSa, Ezra Heleski, and Shackles in a six-run first inning rally, but knew that offense would be tougher to come by in the championship game.
"We looked really good," said the Waipio manager. "But Sunday is going to be much tougher with the level of pitching we're going to face. We have to keep the boys focused."
Ocean View kept it close in the title game, but Waipio rose to the challenge and became the third Hawaiian team to reach South Williamsport in a four-year span.
Brian Yoshii pointed to his team's earlier loss after the title game win.
"We said our best baseball was yet to come," reminded the Waipio manager. "This one was it."
Linescores:
| Pool Play Game 1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
R |
H |
E |
| Ocean View (SoCal) |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
|
10 |
16 |
0 |
| Mountain Ridge (Nevada) |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
3 |
7 |
1 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 2 |
| Washington (Utah) |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
|
11 |
10 |
3 |
| Mountain Ridge (Nevada) |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
6 |
7 |
4 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 3 |
| North Scottsdale (Arizona) |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
4 |
6 |
2 |
| Napa National (NorCal) |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
x |
|
6 |
4 |
2 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 4 |
| Waipio (Hawaii) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1 |
5 |
0 |
| Ocean View (SoCal) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
2 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 5 |
| Washington (Utah) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
|
4 |
4 |
1 |
| North Scottsdale (Arizona) |
0 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
x |
|
11 |
13 |
1 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 6 |
| Waipio (Hawaii) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
4 |
6 |
0 |
| Napa National (NorCal) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 7 |
| Ocean View (SoCal) |
3 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
13 |
|
|
22 |
16 |
0 |
| Washington (Utah) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
0 |
2 |
4 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 8 |
| Waipio (Hawaii) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
4 |
6 |
0 |
| Mountain Ridge (Nevada) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
3 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 9 |
| North Scottsdale (Arizona) |
0 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|
7 |
7 |
2 |
| Mountain Ridge (Nevada) |
4 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
x |
|
8 |
6 |
3 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 10 |
| Ocean View (SoCal) |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
4 |
7 |
2 |
| Napa National (NorCal) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
5 |
7 |
1 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 11 |
| Napa National (NorCal) |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
|
7 |
5 |
2 |
| Washington (Utah) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
2 |
7 |
6 |
|
|
| Pool Play Game 12 |
| Waipio (Hawaii) |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
7 |
10 |
0 |
| North Scottsdale (Arizona) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
6 |
0 |
|
|
| Semifinal Round |
| Ocean View (SoCal) |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
5 |
6 |
1 |
| Napa National (NorCal) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
2 |
4 |
1 |
|
|
| Semifinal Round |
| North Scottsdale (Arizona) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
2 |
0 |
| Waipio (Hawaii) |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
|
|
|
12 |
12 |
1 |
|
|
| Championship Game |
| Waipio (Hawaii) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
4 |
7 |
1 |
| Ocean View (SoCal) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1 |
4 |
2 |
|
|
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Last revision: 06/12/2011
