Waipio earns another trip to Williamsport

By Fred Guzman

For the second time in three years, the Waipio All-Stars are headed to Williamsport, Penn., for the Little League World Series.

The Hawaii boys advanced by rebounding from a narrow opening loss, avenging that setback with a 4-1 victory over Ocean View of Southern California to capture the West Regional title in San Bernardino.

Waipio opens its World Series bid on Saturday, facing Columbus, Ga., in a game that will be aired on ABC at 9 a.m., Hawaii time.

Waipio is in a four-team double-elimination bracket with Columbus, West Side of Hamilton, Ohio, and either Toms River, N.J., or Council Rock Newton of Pennyslvania.

Na Koa Ikaika continued its winning ways by rallying for a 3-2 victory over the Yuma Scorpions last night before a sparse gathering at Iron Maehara Stadium.

The contest was not on the Na Koa’s original schedule, but a makeup of a game that was supposed to be played last month in Yuma.

The Maui team, which earlier took the first-half title, improved its second-half record to 16-4 and improved its league-best overall record to 42-21. Na Koa opens a road trip with a Thursday game in Chico.

On the big-league front, Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki went 0-for-3 and his team was limited to a single hit by Shaun Marcum in a 3-1 loss to Toronto. Shane Victorino’s Phillies and Kanekoa Texeira’s Kansas City Royals were idle.