Jacob Gomes has a number of landmark birthdays ahead of him. But he could have a tough time coming up with a more memorable one than the day he turned 11.
Jacob Gomes has a number of landmark birthdays ahead of him. But he could have a tough time coming up with a more memorable one than the day he turned 11.
How better to celebrate than with a two-out, walk-off double after a spotless relief appearance? Gomes delivered both Saturday on his birthday as the Hilo All-Stars rallied to beat Aiea, Oahu, 4-3 to remain in title contention at the state Little League tournament for ages 9-10 at Central Oahu Regional Park.
“I told Jacob before the at-bat, ‘What a better time to do it?’ ” coach Baba Lancaster said.
Hilo will face Pearl City in a rematch on Sunday morning, with the winner advancing to Monday’s title game against undefeated Kihei. The Maui squad beat Pearl City 8-5 on Saturday and would have to be beaten twice to be denied the championship.
Hilo fell behind 3-0 against an Aiea team it pasted 21-2 on Thursday as it struggled to come through with key hits, stranding 11 runners through five innings.
“All the moves that I made, they never worked,” Lancaster said.
Except the ones involving Gomes. He relieved Ian Kalawe with one out in the third and fired 71 pitches in 3 2/3 innings as Hilo chipped away at the deficit, scoring runs in the third and fifth.
“We were going to save him, but we needed this win,” Lancaster said.
Trailing 3-2 entering its last at-bat, Legend Lancaster led off with a hit up the middle but was erased on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Ezekiel Gragas. Xaige Lancaster’s line drive was caught, and Aiea elected to walk Wailele Kane-Yates – who had tormented Aiea with eight RBIs in the team’s first meeting – to put runners on first and second. Gomes made Aiea pay with a double off the wall, his first game-winning hit in what was Hilo’s 39th game this season.
“After the game, we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him right there on the field,” Lancaster said. “Everybody hung tough.”
He hopes the clutch hitting carries over to Sunday and beyond. Hilo left 10 runners on base in its 10-1 loss to Pearl City on Friday.