Hawaii’s Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth teams shined on the diamond during July’s Pacific Southwest Regionals.
Hawaii teams won regional titles in the Cal Ripken 8U, 9U, 10U and 12U divisions, and another claimed the Babe Ruth 13U regional.
The World Series-bound teams are the OBRL Westside Bombers (10U), OBRL New Era (12U), Hawaii Kai 808 Fear (12U) and OBRL Islanders (13U).
Hawaii has two teams in the 12U tournament because OBRL New Era qualified by winning this year’s regional and Hawaii Kai 808 Fear won the 2022 11U tournament, which automatically qualified it for this year’s World Series.
The Cal Ripken 8U, 9U and 11U divisions do not have World Series.
The Oahu Babe Ruth League Hawaiian Islanders will arrive with a lot of big-game experience.
The Islanders are managed by Rob Iopa and one of his assistants is Kevin Bagoyo. Their sons, Eli Iopa and Zack Bagoyo, are on the roster.
All four were part of the Honolulu team, managed by Brandon Sardinha, that finished third at the 2021 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
“We played with each other since we were 9 years old,” Eli Iopa said of Zack Bagoyo. “We travel together a lot for Cal Ripken and Little League regionals and state tournaments.”
The Islanders’ Tyson Uyehara will be making a repeat appearance at the 13U World Series. Last season, he was with the Kado team that won the title.
“(Uyehara) said there is a lot of fun stuff in and around Glen Allen,” said Iopa, the manager. “The people are very supportive and they roll out the red carpet for the teams. They even traveled to meet the University of Virginia baseball team.”
Eight Islanders players—on two Hawaii teams—competed in the 2022 Cal Ripken 12U World Series in Bronson, Mo. That year, Hawaii had two teams in the tournament because one went through that summer’s qualification process, while the other gained automatic entry by winning the 2021 11U Cal Ripken Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament.
“Experience is huge,” Iopa said. “We’re firm believers in life experiences shape you and the way you play. These boys have seen competitive baseball for four or five years. It’s nothing new to them.”
The Islanders’ top pitchers are Hayden Ajimine-Dela Cruz, Iopa, Chase Kawakami, Levi Perry and Peyton Shimokawa, according to their manager.
“Other teams, after (pitchers Nos.) one or two there is a drop-off substantially,” Iopa said. “We’ve got seven, eight guys that at anytime we feel comfortable with.”
The team’s top hitters are Tate Kobashigawa, Bagoyo, Kanoa Naumu, Iopa and Kawakami.
“Top to bottom everybody contributes,” Iopa said. “We carry 14 players. We pull guys off the bench and they contribute.”
Iopa added his team likes to steal bases, and executed squeeze bunts four or five times during the regional, where they outscored opponents 31-4.
“I expect us to do well in the World Series, but baseball can go either way, ” he said. “We hope to show up, represent Hawaii and play strong.”
OBRL New Era and Hawaii Kai 808 Fear are taking their friendly rivalry to Branson, Mo.
“We scrimmaged them a lot, played them four or five times,” OBRL New Era manager Trumaine Anderson said of Hawaii Kai 808 Fear. “We’re super close with each other and having them up there is super huge. We will be cheering each other on, of course.”
OBRL New Era qualified by winning the Pacific Southwest Regional in Kingsburg, Calif. The team finished with a flurry, beating Spanish Springs, Nev., 10-0 in the semifinals and Casa Grande, Ariz., 10-0 in the final.
“They stepped up their game. During the season, following a loss, they always came back full throttle, ” said Anderson, whose team lost its second regional game. “They got crucial hits, did the right things at the right time.”
Hawaii Kai 808 Fear has been waiting for over a year to finally make its World Series appearance.
The team won the 2022 11U Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament in Long Beach, Calif., to qualify for this year’s World Series.
“The team is super excited,” Hawaii Kai 808 Fear manager Chris Hino said. “We had time to prepare for this trip. The boys are excited to be here.”
Hawaii Kai 808 Fear played intrasquad games and scrimmages against other teams, like OBRL New Era, following its league season.
Hino also called in his son, Peyton Hino, a rising junior outfielder for Bushnell University in Eugene, Ore., and some of Peyton’s baseball buddies to pitch to his players.
“They had to hold back a little bit,” said Hino, the manager. “Every time the other teams will have one kid who throws pretty hard to help them get (to the World Series). We wanted to see velocity and bigger guys on the mound to give us confidence.”
Anderson, OBRL New Era’s manager, said all 12 players on his roster can pitch, with his top guy being Bryce Kedro.
“He’s small. He can hit his spots and the ball really moves. He’s in the low 60s, but it’s real sneaky for his size,” Anderson said.
Talon Pa ‘ahao, Noah Kawakami, Kobejames Kealoha, Desten Napierala Dias-Kaluna and Jayden Nieves-Inong will lead OBRL New Era’s offense, which relies on speed, bunting and stealing bases, according to the manager.
Hawaii Kai 808 Fear’s top player is 5-foot-9 Keona Barraza, who throws a 76 mph fastball and plays shortstop.
“He’s our best pitcher, our best defensive player and our best hitter. He’s our guy,” Hino said.
The team’s other top hitters are lead-off batter Hunter Tam and Jayse Braun, who hits second.
In 2021, most of the players on the Hawaii Kai 808 Fear roster played in the Cal Ripken 10U World Series in Palm Beach Garden, Fla.
OBRL Westside Bombers manager Joseph Gabrillo is in charge of the same group of youngsters for the second consecutive season.
He’s still in shock over how much his players have improved in such a short period.
“They’ve really jumped from where they first started. I can’t believe this,” Gabrillo said.
The Bombers’ top pitchers are hard-throwing left-hander Shane Kealoha and control specialist Chaysten Fuentes.
“His presence along with his size, he brings the intimidation factor,” Gabrillo said of the 5-foot-3 Kealoha. “But at the end of the day, he’s a really nice kid. He’s a good leader for the team. All the other kids look up to him.”
As for Fuentes, Gabrillo said: “He’s a bulldog. He keeps pounding the zone. I like to go to him when we get in trouble.”
The team’s top offensive threats are power hitters Isaac Saoit and Kealoha, who fill the second and third spots in the order.
As 9-year-olds last season, the team routinely got mercy-ruled, according to the manager. They still traveled to a postseason tournament in San Diego and Gabrillo said that was a turning point.
“The kids got together and bonded and played for each other, ” he said. “All credit to the kids and the parents. The parents buy in and the kids buy in.”