Pearl City emerged from the sweltering heat of Nogales, Ariz., as the winner of the Little League Intermediate (ages 13-14) West Regional.
The team hopes to remain hot at the World Series, which starts today in Livermore, Calif.
Pearl City had a quick turnaround, having won the regional semifinal and championship games Thursday in Nogales, a city just north of the Mexico border that reached 100 degrees during the tournament. With only two off days between tournaments, only one of the team’s three aces — Tytan Takahashi — is eligible to pitch at 3 p.m. today against Gonzales, La., because of Little League’s pitch-limit rules. The game in Livermore is scheduled to start. The final of the 12-team tournament is Aug. 6. All other regionals were completed by Tuesday.
Ryley Omine and Boston Schwager will be ineligible to take the mound for Pearl City in the opener.
“It’s not ideal, but we have to make do and figure it out and see what we have,” said Pearl City manager Ty Takahashi, the father of Tytan. “Everything has been tough. We’re lucky to get by and we’re going to keep battling.”
Tytan Takahashi is Pearl City’s hardest thrower, with a mid-70s fastball, and he also leads the team with 15 hits through district, state and regional play, according to his father/manager.
Schwager, a left-hander, and Omine throw around 71-72.
Tytan Takahashi hits No. 2 in the order and is followed by Kelton Onomura, who hit three home runs during the regional.
“Kelton is the guy with the most home runs on the team, but at the same time he’s a big swinger,” Takahashi said. “I tell him to stay within himself. He’s very aggressive.”
Pearl City finished 7-0 and outscored its opponents 85-18 at the nine-team regional, which started July 20.
Due to high temperatures in Nogales, teams on defense were allowed to take water breaks during long innings.
Rain also played a factor, forcing officials to push back the semifinal round to the same day as Thursday’s final.
“That was definitely tough,” said Takahashi, the manager. “It wasn’t on the original schedule. We had to think about the rules with doubleheaders.”
In the semifinal, Pearl City scored five runs in the first inning en route to a 10-3 victory over Douglas, Ariz.
Pearl City took a 6-0 lead in the fourth, but Douglas cut its deficit to 6-3 in the bottom half of the inning. Pearl City scored two in the fifth and two more in the seventh.
“The first game we were able to get five runs (in the first),” Takahashi said. “We were hoping for more, so we could rest our pitchers and catcher. It didn’t work out the way we thought.”
Pearl City trailed early against Encinitas, Calif., in the final before rallying for a 9-6 victory.
Encinitas led 3-1 before Pearl City scored five runs in the fourth. Three runs came in on an error by the Encinitas left fielder, which gave Pearl City a 6-3 advantage. “It was the first game we were really behind. For the whole tournament we were never down,” Takahashi said.
Onomura’s three-run homer in the sixth put Pearl City ahead 9-4.
“I’m super proud of these guys,” Takahashi said. “The kids backed each other up and kept fighting. The semifinal was tough and the final was really tough. He had to stick together and fight for each other.”
The manager added: “The kids were tired from the heat and needed plenty of water. It was challenging, but fun to pull it off.”
On the night of the tournament victory, the 12 players and three coaches were honored with a parade. A fire truck with sirens blaring led the way for the team, which squeezed into the back of a pickup truck. A Pearl City player displayed the Hawaii state flag on the route.
“We have a good bunch of parents and a good bunch of kids,” Takahashi said. “I’m happy for everyone. It’s all worth it because of the kids.”
Ty Takahashi is assisted by Chad Furutani and Preston Onomura. Members of the team are Noah Balderas, Logan Calleon, Lennon Fujimori, Cade Funai, Luke Furutani, Justin-Raine Kamana‘o-Bulosan, Ryley Omine, Kelton Onomura, Noah Propios, Boston Schwager, Tytan Takahashi and Curren Todoroki.
