The Hilo Little League District 4 champions are heading for the Little League State Tournament on Maui.
The 8- to 10-year-old District 4 championship team will open play at 1 p.m. today at Eddie Tam Memorial Center complex in Makawao against a team from District 6 on Oahu.
The Hilo Little Leaguers made it to the state tournament by winning three games between July 8-11. The Hilo team defeated West Side Hawaii Little League 4-3 in the first game, the North Hawaii Little League 13-2 in Game 2, and took the final game 17-2 in a return match with the West Side team.
Eight of the players on the Hilo Little League District 4 champions were on the Hilo Lincoln Wreckers team that won their division title in June in Reno, Nevada, at the annual Youth Baseball Nationals Championship. The remainder of the team in the state finals on Maui was selected from the other teams that entered the Big Island’s Little League tournament.
According to Cody Frenz, one of the team mothers, the Hawaii County Council has made certificates to honor each of the Lincoln Wreckers players who won the Reno tournament and will present the certificates upon the Little Leaguers’ return from Maui.