The Hilo All-Stars — the gutsy, little team that played big-hearted baseball when it counted the most — are headed to the PONY World Series for the first time since 1987.
On Monday, Edgar Barclay drove in Kegan Miura with the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Hilo All-Stars to a dramatic 6-5 win over Lakeside, Calif., and clinch the PONY West Zone baseball tournament title.
The eight-team, double-elimination tournament for players ages 13-14 was held in Whittier, Calif.
The Big Islanders (4-1) went into Monday’s championship game against Lakeside with a perfect record and needing only a win to capture a berth in the upcoming PONY World Series in Washington, Pa. But gritty Lakeside rallied to edge Hilo 4-3 in nine innings in Monday’s first contest, thus forcing a winner-take-all game with the World Series berth hanging in the balance.
The Hilo All-Stars then fell behind 5-0 in the sudden-death contest when head coach Eric Kurosawa watched his players dig deep one final time with their season on the line.
“The kids were kind of in shock after losing the first game,” Kurosawa said. “We had control of that game and had a couple of mistakes. We let it get away. Then in the second game, Lakeside stomped on us in the top of the first inning, scoring three runs.
“Lakeside then added two more runs in the fourth. But when they had to change their pitcher in the sixth, we started to battle back.”
In the sixth inning, the Big Islanders plated two quick runs to pull to 5-2. Then Makoa Andres added a clutch single and after Taylor Mondina was beaned and Mackenzy Maesaka walked, Trayden Tamiya golfed a two-run double to make it 5-4. Lakeside brought in another reliever and Baron Victorino reached base, advanced to second, and then sprinted home on an infield hit by the productive Barclay to tie the thrilling contest at 5-5.
In that wild sixth inning, Lakeside used three relievers to try to slow down fired-up Hilo.
The score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the eighth. Miura singled, hustled to second base on Gehrig Octavio’s sacrifice bunt, then motored home with the game-winning run on Barclay’s RBI single.
“The boys celebrated with a big dog pile in the middle of the field,” Kurosawa said. “They really deserved it. And there were so many parents and families from the mainland that came out to support them. We had great support. It was an amazing way to end the tournament.
“I couldn’t be prouder of these kids — win, lose or draw. They’re a terrific bunch of kids who never grumbled, always stuck together and never gave up. Look at them now, they’re going to the World Series.”
Daylen Calicdan started the second game and pitched five solid innings. Mondina then came in to finish, going three innings to pick up the milestone victory.
Barclay led the Hilo offense with two hits and two RBIs — including the single that punched the ticket to the World Series for the Big Islanders.
In the first game, Hilo plated three runs in the bottom of the first inning and was shutout the final eight innings. Lakeside scored two runs in the second inning as well as one in the seventh and ninth to pull out the win.
Barclay started and hurled seven innings. He struck out eight and beaned three batters. Calicdan took the mound and pitched the final two innings. He took the loss.
“We played good but a couple of mistakes hurt us in the first game,” Kurosawa said. “Both Edgar and Daylen pitched well.”
Hilo defeated Lakeside 5-2 on Sunday to move into the championship game. Andres struck out eight and earned the win while Mondina had three hits and two RBIs to spark the offense.
But coming into Monday, the pressure was on both teams. Then after losing the first game to Lakeside, Kurosawa reminded his players an important message that he’s talked about all season.
“I told them, ‘What do you do when one of your teammates is down?’” Kurosawa said. “And they told me ‘You pick them up.” And like they have done all year, they just kept working hard and believing in themselves. It’s a tribute to them that they never quit playing no matter the score and now they’re going to the World Series.”
The last time Hilo played in the PONY World Series was 1987 —when current Hilo PONY Mustang 9s coaches Shon Malani and Ronald Auwae were captains on that talented Big Island squad.
Kurosawa admits that the current Hilo All-Stars may have been overlooked by some people on their way to the state and zone titles this year, but just the chance for his team to play in the World Series will provide his players with lifetime memories.
“These kids are very deserving, they’ve represented the Big Island and the state well,” Kurosawa said. “We’re excited to be going to the World Series and you know with these kids, they’re going to give you everything they have.”
The World Series starts Thursday.
Members of the West Zone champion Hilo All-Stars are Brett Komatsu, Kaylen Cabatu-Gapusan, Trayden Tamiya, Gehrig Octavio, Jaron Kawaguchi, Mackanzy Maesaka, Daylen Calicdan, Baron Victorino, Shaun Kurosawa, Kaden Cypriano, Kegan Miura, Taylor Mondina, Egar Barclay and Makoa Andres.
Eric Kurosawa is assisted by Jensen Sato and Robert Narimatsu.
