Central Maui Senior Little League’s World Series journey ends with No. 2 spot in the US

Central Maui Senior Little League reached the end of their World Series journey, earning the No. 2 spot in the US.

The Maui boys came within one win of the US title and two wins of the World Series title, but fell to Cherry Hill, New Jersey in a 12-2 loss on Friday afternoon.

The game was the second of the day for the Maui team, which defeated South Carolina 4-0 in an early morning game, that was supposed to take place on Aug. 3, but was moved to Friday morning due to a weather delay.

In the US title match, New Jersey earned the first run of the game, with the score at 1-0 until the 3rd inning.

Mauiʻs Laʻakea Ko hit a two run double to put Hawaiʻi on top during the top of the 3rd.  The lead was short-lived though, as Cherry Hill scored another run at the bottom of the 3rd to tie it up at 2-2.  Before the inning was up, New Jersey hit a double play, earned a walk that led to another run, and drove in a base hit, resulting in a 6-2 New Jersey lead. 

By the end of the 4th inning, New Jersey’s lead had increased to an eight run advantage.

New Jersey scored two more runs in the 5th inning, securing the US title with a 12-2 win over Maui. New Jersey faces international winner, Pabao Little League out of Willemstad, Curaçao in the World Series Title match on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET (10 a.m. HST).

Road to the SBL World Series and US title match:  

Maui’s journey to the SLB World Series tournament started when they secured a spot by winning the West Regional title in a 6-0 win over Oakland last month.

The Maui boys defeated Weslaco, Texas in an 11-2 victory during Game 1 on July 29. That was followed by a 6-1 loss to New Jersey on July 30. On July 31, the Maui team defeated the Central Region representatives out of Burbank, Illinois, 12-0. They went up against Weslaco, Texas again on Aug. 2, and earned a 6-1 victory in Game 15 of the Tournament. The Central Maui Little League senior team defeated South Carolina 4-0 in Game 18, which secured the a spot in the US title game.