Monday, July 2, 2001

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
West Oahu's Vance Otake tagged Yakima's Anthony Milden at
the plate when he tried to score on a single by Luke Andreas
in the fourth inning. Yakima led 1-0 at the time, but West
Oahu came back to win 2-1. Otake went 0-for-2 in
the game, while Milden went 2-for-3.

West Oahu
best again

Yakima took an early lead,
but the defending champs
came back in the sixth

---

Star-Bulletin staff

When a tournament is entitled "Best of the West," it is only fitting that the western most team wins the championship.

West Oahu did just that yesterday, edging Yakima, Wash., 2-1 at Aloha Stadium to successfully defend its title in the 19-and-under baseball tournament.

Yakima scored in the third for a 1-0 lead but West Oahu tied it up in the fifth.

The champions broke through with the eventual winning run in the sixth when Chayne Todani led off the inning with a single, went to second on a balk by Yakima pitcher Brandon Gottier and scored on a single over the second baseman's head by Dane Marcouillier.

Yakima went down in order in the seventh against winning pitcher Ricky Bauer. He struck out four and allowed one unearned run in the complete-game victory.

Bauer was named the tourney's outstanding pitcher. Teammates Isaac Omura and Todani shared the co-MVP honors.

Desert Mountain's Travis Kaates was the tournament's leading hitter, going 9-for-12 with a pair of home runs.

Kaates led his team to a third-place finish in a 9-5 win over California's Western Baseball Club.

Leeward defeated Team Hawaii 3-1 for fifth place.