SAN BERNARDINO, CA >> The 2015 Waipio Little League team gave up some outs with poor baserunning and gave up some runs with defensive mistakes.
It must be said that Waipio never gave up or let despair overcome hope. Waipio’s six runs in the sixth inning fell just short in a 12-10 defeat to Sweetwater Valley in the 2015 Little League West Regional championship game.
Sweetwater Valley, the Southern California representative from the San Diego suburb of Bonita, will advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Sweetwater Valley put five runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first, as the first four batters reached base and 10 batters came to the plate to score five runs before Waipio had a turn at bat.
That wasn’t a problem for Waipio, as the local team answered with four runs. Sage Koahou doubled in two, while catcher Alex Armenti followed with a Baltimore chop base hit and moved to second on an error.
There was a precedent in the game between the two teams on Aug. 9, as Waipio scored seven runs after Sweetwater Valley scored six in the top of the first inning.
“We fought back last week,” said Waipio manager Ray Motta Jr. Sweetwater Valley won the first meeting 16-9, but Waipio took home three consecutive games to reach the final.
Sweetwater Valley scored in every inning except the sixth, and entered the bottom of the sixth with a 12-4 advantage.
“I knew we had the team to come back,” Motta said. “We just wanted to keep their confidence high.”
Relief pitcher Levi Mendez allowed a one-out single to Anu Reis after a strikeout, and Mendez fanned Joshua Aribal for the second out.
Despite the gloomy outlook, the next six batters reached base. Vance Oshiro had an RBI double and scored when Hunter Sasaki brought home two runs with a triple. Vincent Ogasawara doubled home a run and Kaiwi Winchester’s RBI single made the score 12-9.
Koahou’s single moved Winchester to second, and Armenti hit a ball to the pitcher, but Mendez threw wildly down the right-field line. Winchester scored, but Koahou was caught between third and home. He was tagged out after the fourth throw in a rundown to end the game.
“We had some careless baserunning in the game,” Motta said.
Waipio missed opportunities when Sweetwater Valley turned important double plays in the second and fourth innings. Sweetwater Valley made some good throws on both plays.
In the second, Joshua Aribal led off the inning with a walk. Oshiro hit a hard shot to first baseman Jacob Baptista, who made a fine catch and ran to first base. Aribal slipped, and Baptista threw to Mendez at short. Aribal was unable to reach second base before Mendez’s tag.
The fourth inning ended when Sasaki attempted to bunt with runners on base. He was unable to get the ball down, and starting pitcher Antonio Andrade caught the ball in the air. Andrade, who was the winning pitcher, threw back to Mendez and made that double play.
“I couldn’t ask for a better team and we had a wonderful season,” Motta said in assessing Waipio’s run to the championship game. “They left their hearts on the field.”
Motta was somewhat distraught when asked how he thought he would assess the season in a couple of weeks.
“I should have held the runner at third,” he said.
