Central East Maui’s game with New Jersey suspended due to rain

The Central East Maui Little League team wouldn’t necessarily call Sunday’s downpour in Williamsport, Pa., that suspended its game with Elizabeth, N.J., a blessing.

Leading 6-0 with one out in the fifth, the West Region champions were well on their way to knocking off the Mid-Atlantic representative when the dark clouds opened up and the rains blew in to force a resumption of play today at 7 a.m. Hawaii time. Who will take the hill for the Maui boys remains to be seen.

Starting Maui pitcher Logan Kuloloia exited the mound with one out in the fourth inning after 61 pitches. He gave up no runs on two hits, striking out three and walking two. Isaac Imamura pitched one inning of relief, but with one out in the top of the fifth with one man on, he and his teammates exited the field due to a rain delay that lasted about 30 minutes before the game was called.

Central East Maui got off to a fast start again much like in the Little League opener on Friday. After Mid-Atlantic starting pitcher J.R. Rosado retired the first two batters, he faced dangerous hitter Jaren Pascual. The winning pitcher for Maui in Friday’s victory over River Ridge of Louisiana, Pascual packs a powerful bat as well and showed it Sunday.

Down 0-2 in the count, Pascual launched a lazy curve over the left-field fence, only the second home run in that park since the start of the tournament on Thursday, giving the West a 1-0 advantage after one.

The Wailuku team added two more runs in the second, thanks in part to some shoddy fielding by New Jersey. Kamahao Akina opened the second by getting hit by a pitch. He was safe at second on a bad throw by the pitcher on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Kuloloia. With two men aboard and one out, Marley Sebastian put down a hard bunt that New Jersey third baseman Derek Escobar fielded cleanly.

He should have stepped on third for the second out, but instead fired it across the mound to first only to discover no one was on the bag. The errant throw plated both Maui runners to extend the local kids’ advantage to 3-0 after two.

New Jersey got two runners on board in the third to pose a mild threat with its best hitters at the plate, but Kuloloia got Jayden Capindica to fly out to deep right to end the inning as Maui held its three-run advantage. Maui managed a threat of its own in the bottom half of the third as the first two batters reached safely; a single by Imamura back through the box and a walk to Brandyn Wong. Nakea Kahalehau chased Rosado with a one-out single to left to load the bases.

New Jersey reliever Sal Garcia came in to face pinch hitter Nicholas Nashiwa, who lined a bases-clearing double down the left-field line to give Maui a 6-0 lead. Nashiwa went to third on the throw to the plate, but remained there after Garcia got out of the inning with two strikeouts, but the damage was done.