[BASEBALL]
KAUNAKAKAI, Molokai >> Kurt Tanabe scattered five hits and struck out nine to lead Waipio over Hilo National 3-1 for the Hawaii Little League baseball state championship at Harrison Cooke Field. Waipio beats Hilo to reach regional
Star-Bulletin staff
All of the game's scoring came in the third inning, with Hilo taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Waipio countered with three runs in the bottom on singles by Tanabe, Travis Jones and Tony Fernandez.
Waipio advances to the Northwest Regional in San Bernardino, Calif., facing Montana in the tournament's opening game Saturday.
Big Leaguers drop game: At Scottsdale, Ariz., Hawaii's representative in the Little League Big League Division (17-18) beat Northern California 8-7 yesterday but was eliminated the previous day when it lost 6-5 to Southern California.
Hawaii finished the tournament 2-1, one game behind Southern California.
Crewz Tanaka sent the team home a winner though, when he worked his way out of a jam with runners on second and third and no outs in the seventh inning.
Brett Tanigawa singled in Trenton Teriuya in the bottom of the sixth to give Hawaii the lead.
Imua into semfinals: At Fresno, Calif., Imua Hawaii won both of its games yesterday in the Cal Ripken All-Star Classic baseball tournament for 9-10 year-olds.
In the opener, Imua scored seven runs in the third en route to an 8-2 victory over Bullard (Calif.) National. The game was called after four innings due to a time limit.
Hawaii splits at CABA: At Omaha, Neb., Hawaii beat Texas 18-0 then lost to Nebraska 9-0 in the Continental Ameteur Baseball Association 12-and-under World Series yesterday.
Toby Inouye, Travis Muraoka and Justin Yamamoto combined to limit Texas to one hit.