Trending
Manager Brandon Sardinha pinch-hit for his leadoff, No. 2 and clean-up hitters Sunday against Hastings, Nebraska.
Honolulu, Hawaii won that game, 11-3 in seven innings.
While it is rare to see reserves replace hitters in those positions, Sardinha shows no fear when bringing players off the bench. That is because Hawaii is not just one of the country's best Little League teams, but also one of the deepest.
Only nine players can take the field at a time, but Hawaii basically features 14 starters. Each one has significantly produced this summer and 11 players delivered hits in Hawaii's first two Little League World Series. It scored 20 runs and pounded out 22 hits in those games while reaching Wednesday's Hank Aaron winner's bracket final.
"That's the beauty of this team. They can play almost anywhere and batting-wise they are all great hitters," Sardinha said. "We can use them whenever we need them; throughout the whole process of states and regionals and here they've been producing for us. Those guys coming in, we rely on them a lot."
Hawaii's offensive depth has guaranteed it will finish among the country's top six teams this season. Wherever one is in the lineup, he is a threat. It has been that way since this postseason run started. It really accelerated at the West Regional when Hawaii hit .436, scored 42 runs, went 4-0 and defeated fellow world title contender Torrance, California for the championship.
A popular youth baseball chant is, "Everybody hits." That certainly is the case here and Hawaii opened the Series by having eight players different players in each game generate hits.
"That Hawaii team is a good bunch of hitters," Connecticut manager Rob Rastelli said. "They drive the ball and they hit the ball where we weren't."
"There's not an easy out in their lineup and that's pretty tough to go out and compete against those guys. "They cut balls in half. That's all they do."
And it does not matter who is at the plate. Nearly every player batted over .300 at regionals and seven were standing at .333 or better entering Wednesday's game. Top, middle, bottom of the order or coming off the bench ... each player packs a wallop. That is why Hawaii had lost just one game en route to reaching Wednesday's winner's bracket final, while winning seven straight.
That depth also means that if one player is having an off day there so often is someone picking him up. Ryan Keanu put together a monster regional performance but went 0 for 4 in his first Series game. It did not matter as eight different players produced nine hits in a 9-1 victory. When some others cooled off against Nebraska, Keanu went 3 for 5 and finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle. What opponents have learned is that one might be able to contain certain players but shutting down this team is quite a problem.
"That's exactly how our team is built," Sardinha said after the Connecticut win. "We have a lot of great hitters on this team. Any one of them can get hot and, fortunately, a lot of them did."
That's another impressive aspect about this team. It's not just that Hawaii heats up, it's when it does so. The West champions erased early deficits against California in the West final and against Connecticut in its Series opener. And when Nebraska landed a haymaker, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings Sunday, Hawaii answered with a rousing knockout blow.
During a rally which punctuated everything that makes this offense so dangerous, Hawaii sent 13 batters to the plate, scored eight runs and broke open the game. Six different players laced key hits and Chase Thompson came off the bench to scorch the go-ahead single RBI single. Before an out was recorded, four straight players reached base and three consecutive produced hits, including Keanu who slammed an inside-the-park home run as Hawaii built a 7-3 advantage. The production kept coming no matter who was at the plate and Hawaii showed it is as resilient as it is dangerous.
"This team has amazed me throughout this journey," Sardinha said. "They were a little disappointed as anyone would be (after Nebraska tied it), but they kept their heads up. That was an awesome way for them to bounce back."
Three years ago, Honolulu's Little League captured a world championship, going undefeated in South Williamsport while showcasing some awesome depth. This team's fate is yet undecided, but they have already ensured that this league's tradition has continued going strong.
Honolulu has become one of the world's best teams, because it is a team, period.
"They're an amazing ball club," Rader said. "I told our boys in order to be the best you have to be the best and they are very solid, very strong. It's fun to go out and compete with them on the same field."