Central East Maui Games Will Air on ESPN 550

By Fred Guzman

By virtue of its dramatic run to capture the Hawaii state championship, Central East Maui earned a berth in the Little League West Regional tournament that begins this week in San Bernardino, Calif.

The Maui team opens its bid on Saturday with the first of four games in pool play, and you can follow every pitch exclusively on Maui’s ESPN 550 AM radio.

Central East will face Rio Rico, Ariz., in a game scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start, Hawaii time, followed by games at 5 p.m. Sunday against Huntington Beach, the Southern California champion, at 9:30 a.m. Monday against Washington, Utah, and at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday against Northern California champion Red Bluff.

The top two teams in each six-team pool qualify for Friday’s semifinals.  The regional final will be held on Saturday, Aug. 13.

This competition in the Major Division for 11- and 12-year-olds is by far the most popular youth baseball tournament in the world, capped off by the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Penn.

ESPN will also be televising selected regional semifinal and finals game, as well as most games from Williamsport.

Before Central East can begin focusing on a trip to the East, the boys – and two girls – on the squad must get past a tough field in the West, regarded by many as the toughest Little League region in the country.

In fact, two teams from Hawaii – Ewa Beach in 2005 and Waipahu in 2008 – have won World Series titles in recent years.  Waipahu came up short last year, suffering a 4-1 loss to a team from Tokyo.  Pearl City also reached the final in 1988, losing to Taipei, Taiwan.