Waipio Little League stays alive in Williamsport

By Fred Guzman

Shiloh Baniaga is all of 5-feet, 2 inches tall. But the little guy came up huge Sunday in Williamsport, Pa.

As a result, the Waipio All-Stars lived stayed alive in the Little League World Series by defeating Toms River, N.J., 3-1 in an elimination game for both teams.

Baniaga contributed to the victory with his bat and his arm. He homered in the first inning. He also scattered three hits while striking out six over five innings as the kids from Waipahu survived one of the best games of this year’s tournament.

Ty DeSa added a solo homer in the fifth to knock New Jersey out of the double-elimination event.

It was a must-win victory for Hawaii, which suffered an opening 6-2 loss to Columbus, Ga., on Saturday.

DeSa’s two-run blast gave Waipio an early lead. But with the exception of a later double by DeSa, that’s all Waipio could muster offensively. The rest of the team batted 0-for-17.

Hawaii next plays on Tuesday, facing the loser of today’s game between Hamilton, Ohio, and Columbus. Tuesday’s game is set for a 10 a.m., Hawaii time, and will be televised on ESPN.

In Sunday’s other games, Mexico eliminated Germany 11-2, Panama stayed alive with a 13-0 rout of Saudi Arabia, Japan ousted Puerto Rico 7-2 and Texas trouned Connecticut 14-1.