SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Hilo Little League’s majors all-star baseball team suffered a 6-0 loss on Monday during the Little League West Region championship semifinals — falling to southern California’s representative, El Segundo LL.
HLL is now 1-1 in the tourney, and will have one shot at staying in the tournament — facing off today at 3 p.m. local time (6 p.m. PST) against northern California representative Bollinger Canyon LL, of San Ramon, Calif.
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During Monday’s loss, Hilo trailed 1-0 until ESLL plated four runs. HLL was out-hit 10-4, struggling at the plate and the mound.
“So-Cal has some really good pitchers,” Hilo’s team manager Ryan Pagan said. “If I’m correct, I think four of their pitchers throw in at least the mid-70’s (miles per hour). They threw some good breaking balls, so they kept us off balance. The kids stayed in the game, but we’re back to the drawing board.”
The team has been on the mainland for five days now, but Pagan said that the kids are enjoying their time.
On Tuesday night, they went to watch a Single-A Minor League Baseball game — the Inland Empire 66ers versus the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
“They’ve adjusted really well,” he said. “They’re bonding really well. They’ve still been working hard, we’re going to one of the local cages every day. They practice on the field. I think it was 104 (degrees fahrenheit) when we were on the field.
“These kids are making memories, they’re bonding. They’re having fun.”
Now 1-1, HLL will earn a berth in the finals if it can defeat Bollinger — which is also 1-1, falling 3-2 to El Segundo in the first round, but remaining in the tourney by defeating Arizona’s Canyon View LL 5-1 on Sunday. Hilo beat CVLL 7-4 in the first round.
This means that Hilo is just two wins away from a spot in the Little League Baseball World Series — which begins next week in Williamsport, Penn.
“The kids are really excited,” Pagan said. “In the first game against Arizona, I think they had first-game jitters — but they were able to settle down in the second half of that first game. I’m excited to see how they can do (tonight) against nor-Cal.”
Thanks to support from the community, Hilo’s players have been comfortable during their trip. A GoFundMe posted nine days ago asking for donations for the team’s travels has raised over $6,000 of its $7,000 goal — with some individual donations as high $500 to $1,000.
“We’ve been getting a lot of support from back home,” Pagan said. “The team is super grateful for all of the support we’ve received.”
If you would like to donate to the team’s cause, please do so at gofund.me/7adccb7d.
Hilo Little League covers the team’s one airfare to LAX, as well as room and board. Donations will go toward other expenses — such as rental cars, baggage fees and flight home.