The West Zone Champion Hilo, Hawaii (USA) got their bats going on day two of the Pony-13 World Series. Hilo’s Brayden Malani went 4-for-4, including an inside the park home run to clinch the win in the 10-0 mercy rule victory over the host team, Whittier, CA (USA).
Hilo got to work right away, thanks to their leadoff batters. Malani and Bubu Kawelu started Hilo off with back-to-back hits then a double-steal, putting them both in scoring position.
Malani scored the first run of the game after tagging up on a Journey Leialoha sacrifice fly. The next batter grounded out, but hit the ball far enough to allow Kawelu to score from third.
Hilo quickly found themselves up 4-0 after adding a run in the third and fourth innings. In the bottom of the fifth, the Hilo bats exploded for four hits. Dominic Christensen, Elijah Okano, Legend Lancaster and Isaiah Justo all scored in the fifth inning before Malani came up to bat with the bases empty.
With the score at 9-0, Malani got hold of a pitch and blasted it all the way to the left field fence at York Field. The speedy Malani made his way around the bases and landed a game-ending inside the park home run.
Malani didn’t miss a beat all game. He went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored to help lead Hilo, Hawaii to the day two win. Justo, Lancaster and Kawelu were also in top form, each coming away with two hits in the game.
Hilo’s starting pitcher Gavin Nishida gave the team three solid innings. Nishida only gave up a single hit while striking out three batters.
Next up for Hilo, Hawaii (USA) will be the loser of the day two match between Houston, Texas (USA) and Tijuana (Mexico).
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