In the morning, Hilo went up against the top team in the tournament. In the afternoon, it faced perhaps the hardest thrower around.
It took California’s best to take down the Bronco-All Stars, who lost twice Saturday and were eliminated from the PONY League West regional in Whittier, Calif.
After a 6-3 loss to undefeated Sierra Valley, Hilo got roughly 25 minutes off before facing Inglewood, which resulted in another 6-3 loss.
Those ages 11-12 teams will play in Sunday’s final, and Hilo coach Chris Honda knows whom he is picking.
“Against Sierra, we got beat by a better team,” he said. “They were fine-tuned. The best team here.”
Honda often praises his state champions for taking a plan to the plate and making the proper adjustments, but Sierra Valley had an answer for Hilo’s deep-hitting lineup, save for a solo home run by Kalai Rosario and two more hits from Zakaia Michaels.
“They did a good job of scouting our players and found our weaknesses,” Honda said.
Against Inglewood, Hanalei Warren stroked a two-run double among his two hits, Michaels posted his third multihit game of the tournament and Rosario doubled and posted two hits for the second time on the day.
Tied 2-2 after the first inning, Inglewood’s pitcher strengthened as the game wore on and went the distance.
Falling short of its third consecutive trip to the championship, a Hilo Broncos team has now dominated at states but lost at regionals in four of the past five seasons.
What’s it going to take to reach the World Series?
Honda pointed to pitching. Hilo’s strong suit usually is hitting, and it gets neutralized in California.
“These tournaments are tough because the pitching gets so good,” he said. “We’re improving all the time and that’s a credit to the coaches who give back to the community.
“The goal was to take these kids to the mainland and expose them to bigger and better competition. It’s a win-win.”
A year or two away from high school, most team members will be eligible for Pony 13s and Pony 13-14s next season.
In Saturday’s first game, Warren yielded five runs and six hits in three innings, Braxton Cagampang pitched two innings and Blake Moniz worked a scoreless frame.
