SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. >> Kaolu Holt has carried the Honolulu Little League team to within one stop of a trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Holt struck out 13 batters and wriggled out of a third-inning jam to lift Honolulu to a 5-1 victory in the Little League West Region semifinal Thursday night over Silverado of Nevada.
Honolulu will play the winner of today’s game between Northern California (Rocklin LL) and Nevada (Silverado LL) in the West Region Final. The championship game, set for 3 p.m. Saturday, will be televised by ESPN.
“It’s special to be in this position and to know that my team has my back,” said Holt, who is missing the first couple of days of eighth grade to be in the tournament.
Coach Gerald Oda said five players, including Holt, are doing study sessions so they don’t lose ground. “(Missing school) is good motivation for them,” he joked.
This was a complete team effort for Honolulu. All five of the team’s reserves played in the game and made contributions. Chandler Murray hit a home run to center field in the fourth inning to give Honolulu a 3-1 lead, while two other non-starters managed to reach base and Nainoa de la Cruz drove a ball to the warning track.
Oda said Holt’s wrist had bothered him during the league season, but he felt better once the all-star season started.
“I was just trying to throw strikes and hit the glove and not be wild,” said Holt, whose favorite players are shortstop Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros and Kamehameha-Hawaii product Kolten Wong of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Honolulu started quickly by scoring two runs in the top of the first. Mana Lau Kong opened with a single to right and Aukai Kea followed with a double down the right-field line. Sean Yamaguchi hit a hard line drive to first baseman Brady Ballinger, but Kong scored on a wild pitch and Kea added the second run on an error.
Holt retired six consecutive batters after opening the game by grazing Silverado leadoff hitter Jack Buening’s elbow. Holt allowed only two hits, but both were in the bottom of the third inning and made Honolulu fans nervous.
Aaron del Valle singled to left to lead off the third, stealing second later in the inning. Holt struck out two batters, but Ballinger singled to right.
Holt suffered some wildness, as a run scored on a wild pitch and he walked two batters. He rebounded and struck out Connor Apeceche to end the inning.
“Coach told me to keep my shoulder close,” Holt said. His effort was very strong in the first inning and he was able to change speeds effectively.
“He (Holt) kept us off balance,” Silverado manager Frank Apeceche said. “We knew he had a decent fastball because we saw him pitch earlier in the tournament.”
Murray watched Shelton from the bench and came to the plate with a strategy.
“I saw they were pitching outside and that he (Shelton) threw an outside curveball,” Murray said. “I stood closer to the plate so I could reach the pitch.”
Yamaguchi had an RBI single later in the fourth for Honolulu, which added a run in the sixth when Lau Kong singled to left and came around to score.
Oda will not have Holt available to pitch on Saturday because of Little League rules, which mandate a three-day rest after throwing 85 pitches. Kea, who played third base on Thursday, will start for Honolulu on Saturday.
