Hawaii reaches West Region final, 1 win from LLWS

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. >> In the bottom of the fifth inning on Monday afternoon, the Honolulu Little League went from a tied game to a 13-3 mercy-rule victory over Tri-City (Northern California) Little League in the West Region Little League Baseball Tournament.

Hit batters and home runs were the deciding factors, as Kekoanui Payanal, Jaron Lancaster and Angus Angell went deep in the fifth inning for Honolulu, which advanced to the championship game on Friday for a chance to go to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. That game will begin at 3 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

A total of 10 Honolulu batters were hit by pitches, while three Tri-City batters were plunked. Honolulu coach Gerald Oda didn’t think there was any negative intent by Tri-City pitchers.

“It seemed like a war out there,” Oda said. “Their kids are well-coached and played tough. I told our kids it wouldn’t be easy.”

The Honolulu batters who were hit by the pitches were a big factor in the fifth-inning rally. Two hit batters surrounded a single to load the bases. Kobe Hino broke the tie with a single for a 4-3 lead.

Payanal followed by hitting a low, inside fastball for a grand slam to right center for an 8-3 lead.

Lancaster, who tied the game in the fourth inning when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, followed with a two-run blast rolled to a second fence that separates the complex from a middle school. It traveled around 300 feet.

“It was a curve, but I didn’t see the launch angle,” Lancaster said.

The game ended when Angell hit a three-run homer.

“When we got the first two home runs, it pumped me up,” Angell said.

Honolulu opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the second. Angell opened the inning with an infield single and the next two batters were hit by pitches. Mikah Noda brought Angell home with a sacrifice fly.

Tri-City took a 3-2 lead in the top of the third. Vince Olson had a leadoff single and moved to third on a double. Brandon Williams drew his second of three intentional walks to load the bases.

Oda acknowledged that walking Williams was not popular among Tri-City supporters.

“We are one game away from Williamsport,” Oda said, adding that Williams is an incredible player. “I believe that in 15 years, we will pay money to watch him in the majors.”

Travis Evans was hit on his helmet by a pitch. He did not play the rest of the game.Two more runs scored on an error.

Honolulu will play the winner of an elimination game between Tri-City and Sidewinder LL of Arizona. That elimination game will be played on Wednesday at 3 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.