North Hawaii’s Aiden Joaquin loves to strike batters out. He said so after his dominating performance against Hilo in the District 4 Minors (8-10 year-olds) Little League baseball tournament, which kicked off Friday at Old Airport Park.
North Hawaii’s Aiden Joaquin loves to strike batters out. He said so after his dominating performance against Hilo in the District 4 Minors (8-10 year-olds) Little League baseball tournament, which kicked off Friday at Old Airport Park.
With seven strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of work, Joaquin helped lead North Hawaii to an 18-2 rout in the first round and a date with top-seeded Kona in the second round of the tourney at 10 a.m. today.
North Hawaii jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning, allowing Joaquin plenty of leeway on the hill. After allowing a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning, Joaquin struck out the next three batters, leaving a runner stranded at third.
With a 10-0 lead in the bottom of the second, the young North Hawaii pitcher walked two, but struck out two, to keep the shutout intact.
Joaquin seemed to only get stronger as the game progresses, saving his best performance for the third inning. With a 14-0 lead, he struck out the first two batters he faced before being pulled because of the strictly enforced pitch count rules.
Speaking about his performance, Joaquin said his curveball and slider was working well in the game. The North Hawaii pitcher has been working on the two pitches for a little over a year.
“He has some years pitching and playing. That experience gives him an edge,” North Hawaii coach Earl Hoshida said. “He is pretty strong.”
Offensively, Leyton Neves led North Hawaii with four hits, including a triple in the top of the second which scored a run. Joaquin was solid at the plate as well, picking up two hits. He led off the top of the second with a double and scored on Neves triple. Easton Hoshida and Traven Lee also had two hits apiece for North Hawaii. Lee had three RBIs.
“The kids played well today,” Earl Hoshida said. “They hit the ball and made plays.”
Kia‘i Yasso had most of the offense for the Hilo squad. He had a triple with an RBI. Taren Segoria-Tanonaka took the loss on the hill.
With the loss, Hilo will now await the loser of Kona and North Hawaii today. That game will take place on Sunday at 10 a.m. The winner of today’s game will advance to the championship game on Monday at 11 a.m. and will play the winner of Sunday’s game.