Associated Press
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- It only took one pitch for Mana Lau Kong
to deliver Hawai'i its first Little League World Series title in a
decade.
Against a South Korea team that hadn't surrendered a home
run in the tournament, Kong drove the first pitch his team saw over the
center field fence. As he rounded the bases and headed home, his
teammates poured out of the dugout in a pack led by pitcher Ka'olu Holt
and formed a huddle around home plate.
"It was great,'' Holt said, "because we all knew that pitcher was tough to hit.''
Holt
took it from there, throwing a two-hitter to lead Hawai'i to a 3-0
victory in the Little League World Series championship, the first
shutout in a title game since 2002. It was Holt's first-ever complete
game.
The team from Honolulu allowed just three runs in the entire
tournament, shut out four of its five opponents and struck out 53
batters in 34 innings.
``Someone asked me, what's the strength of
the team, and I honestly have to say, it's that they play as a team,''
Hawai'i manager Gerald Oda said. "Ka'olu pitching, or Aukai [Kea]
pitching, Mana hitting a home run, it's everybody just doing the best
that they can do. Once they bought in and once they accepted their
roles, it makes my job a lot easier.''
In the bottom of the second
inning, Hawai'i had the bases loaded with no outs, but failed to score.
So Oda took a more aggressive approach on the basepaths with two
runners in scoring position in the third.
Pinch-runner Zachary Won
scored Hawai'i's second run on a wild pitch from starter Kim
Yeong-hyeon. As catcher Kim Gi-jeong chased the ball, Oda sent Taylin
Oana all the way home from second to give Hawaii its third run.
In
the stands, Hawai'i's fans, waving tea leaves for luck, started to mix
their signature ``Hon-o-lu-lu!'' chants with ``U-S-A!''
The
victory marks the first time a Hawaiian team has won the Little League
World Series since 2008. It is now one of seven U.S. states with at
least three LLWS titles. All of Hawai'i's championships have come in the
past 13 years.
Seoul, South Korea, has played in the three of the
last six LLWS title games, but won only once -- in 2014. It lost in
2016 to Maine-Endwell, New York.
``It was equally the same thing,
from 2016 to 2018,'' South Korea manager Su Ji-hee, who was also a
member of the coaching staff of the 2016 team, said through a
translator. ``After the game, the kids were crying, they feel sorry for
themselves.''
At
the conclusion of a six-pitch final inning, Hawaii's players tossed
their gloves and hats as high as they could, and sprinted to the mound
to form another celebratory huddle.
``It felt really great because
barely any Hawaii teams get to be in this moment and feel what it feels
like meeting other people from around the world, to playing baseball
against them too,'' Kong said.
After finally achieving what his
team set out to accomplish at the beginning of the summer, Oda can't
wait to return home to his family.
As for the kids? They want to see their families, too, but they have other plans.
"I want to go to the beach,'' Holt said.