Shockers hope to shock world at Ripken World Series

Sometimes the most rewarding things are the ones that don’t come easy.

The Oahu Shockers, a group of 12-and-under baseball players from Hawaii, entered the Cal Ripken Pacific Southwest Regional dreaming big.

On the line was an opportunity to play in the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Md., following in the footsteps of the Eastside (Oahu) team that advanced to the U.S. championship game a year ago.

But a loss to Northern California in the opening game meant the Shockers had to win seven times in five days to advance.

"After that first game, I didn’t doubt we could do it, but it wasn’t looking very positive," said center fielder Zachary Gushiken. "But after we won two or three games then I knew we’d win it."

The Shockers did exactly that, beating that same Northern California team twice on the final day to punch their ticket to the World Series that gets under way Friday.

Pitcher Koalii Pontes, who also plays second base and left field, said he’d never played in a mainland tournament until the regional in Taylorsville, Utah.

Now he’ll be playing on one of the biggest stages for kids his age.

"It means a lot to make it there," Pontes said. "I’m looking forward to winning and having fun and taking in the experience."

The team is led by coaches Gary Ichimura, Randy Inaba and Brant Tanaka, who have been with most of the kids for at least a year.

Ichimura and Inaba coached together before, losing in the championship game of a regional for 10-year-olds two years ago in Elk Grove, Calif. They also coached a different 12-and-under team in the same Pacific Southwest Regional a few years back, coming within a game of the Cal Ripken World Series.

"You know how losing builds character? Well we have a lot of character," Ichimura said with a laugh. "When we got that final out, all the coacheslooked (at each other) and said we worked hard, we expected to win and now that we won, what do we do now?"

Now is the hard part. The coaches have spent much of the past week putting together an itinerary for the tournament.

Half the team left on Tuesday, with the other half scheduled to leave today. Opening ceremonies are Friday, and the Shockers have a bye on Saturday, giving them an extra day to prepare before their first game Sunday against the New England Regional champion at 9:30 a.m. Hawaii time.

The team will play four games in pool play, with the top three out of two five-team U.S. divisions advancing to the championship rounds.

The U.S. championship is Aug. 18 at 11 a.m., followed by the world championship game the next day at 8 a.m.

"It’s our reward because the kids have worked hard and we’ve seen them get better and better and better," Ichimura said. "For them to win and make it to the World Series, there are only nine other teams from the U.S. playing there, it’s a huge accomplishment."

While they plan to enjoy the experience, Gushiken says he only has one goal he wants to accomplish on the trip.

"We want to win," Gushiken said. "(We) want to be the best team in the world."

Joining Gushiken and Pontes on the Oahu Shockers are Kyson Donahue, Jarron Carter, Davis Mau, Shea Yamaguchi, Ryne Aniya, Brent Alamillo, Michael Yamamoto, Keene Tanaka, Trevor Ichimura, Matthew Ibana and Ryne Oshiro.