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Hawaii smashes five home runs to blank Tennessee and reach U.S. Final

By Chris Masse 6 min read

A closer look at Honolulu, Hawaii’s 13-0, four-inning win over Nolensville, Tennessee, Wednesday at Lamade Stadium

PLAY OF THE GAME--Cohen Sakamoto’s grand slam: It’s hard to believe Sakamoto was struggling offensively entering the Series because he has been on a rampage since reaching South Williamsport. Sakamoto continued his binge in dramatic fashion, walloping a first-inning grand slam which put Hawaii up, 5-0. The grand slam had Tennessee playing catch up against a team which had allowed two hits in three Series games entering Wednesday and pretty much spelled doom for it.

HAWAII PLAYER OF THE GAME--Cohen Sakamoto: So many players were worthy of honors here, but it’s hard to argue with Sakamoto’s performance. A player who has played his best baseball at the perfect time went 2 for 2 with two home runs, five RBIs and a walk. He has put the West Regional behind him and gone on a tear, hitting .714 in four Series games with two home runs, two triples, a double and nine RBIs. Oh yeah, he also has not allowed a hit in nine innings pitched at the Series.

TENNESSEE PLAYER OF THE GAME--Nash Carter: A valuable player all summer, Carter went 1 for 1 and did his best to help Tennessee rally in the second inning, hitting a one-out single. Wright Martin also singled that inning as Tennessee put two runners on with one out.

BIG INNING--Hawaii first: Hawaii coaches have said their goal every game is to jump all over the opponent and the West champions have been brilliant at doing so. Wednesday was the latest example with Hawaii sending 10 batters to the plate and building a 5-0 advantage. Two players homered, six straight reached base at one point and Hawaii quickly blew things open. Hawaii has scored eight first inning runs in its last three games.

BEST EFFORT--Hawaii’s power display: Tennessee is a fantastic team, one of the top three in the U.S. Wednesday was nothing about what it did wrong, but what Hawaii did so right. The West champions put on a hitting clinic, bashing five home runs, producing 12 hits and scoring 13 runs in just three at-bats. Hawaii hit more home runs in three innings than the other nine Series teams have combined for thus far. Seven players combined for 12 hits, four hit home runs and Hawaii scored at least three runs in each inning. The West champions have now outscored four Series opponents, 42-1. It was quite an amazing performance by a team which looks more amazing every time it plays.

HOME RUNS: Kekoa Payanal did it again, hitting his second leadoff home run at the Series. He crushed the 0-1 pitch well over the right-center field fence and tied Pennsylvania’s Chase Link for the Series home run lead with three. Sakamoto was ahead in the count 2-1 when he blasted his game-changing grand slam way over the fence in straight away center field. Sakamoto became the sixth different Hawaii player to hit a Series home run, highlighting the team’s depth. Daly Watson homered for a second straight game and put Hawaii up 7-0 with his two-run, second inning shot. Watson tattooed the 2-0 pitch, depositing it off the Howard J. Lamade statue just beyond the center field fence. Sakamoto continued the home run flurry just two batters later, smashing his second of the game just a few feet from where Watson hit his. Sakamoto jumped on the first pitch and gave Hawaii an 8-0 lead. Kama Angell made it three straight innings in which Hawaii homered when he belted a two-out homer to center field. Angell just got enough of it, and despite a great defensive effort, it bounced off the wall and over for the team’s fifth home run. That one gave Hawaii a 9-0 lead.

FLASHING LEATHER: Three pitches into the game Hawaii already was displaying its defensive prowess. William Satinoff hit a hard grounder into the hole between short and third base and looked like he would have a leadoff hit. Instead, Jaron Lancaster fielded the ball on the outfield grass and fired a rocket to Tau Purcell which beat the speedy Satinoff by a step and helped ignite a 1-2-3 inning. Payanal and Jaron Lancaster looked like a pair of Major Leaguers when they turned a rally stifling third-inning double play. Tennessee had runners on first and second when Payanal fielded a hard ground ball and made an immediate flip to Lancaster for the force at second before Lancaster made a quick turn and strong throw to first, completing the sequence.

" I told them it’s OK to be angry about that because that just means you care. You don’t want to put on a fake smile or fake face when you care about something and that’s OK. I’m not ever going to get down on you from caring something, but I wanted to stress to them is we’re not going to walk out with our heads held down because you’ve accomplished too much," Tennessee manager Randy Huth said. "This one game doesn’t take away from what you’ve accomplished, and you guys should still be very proud of where we’re at right now and we’re not done so we’re going to walk out of our stadium with our heads held high and make sure everyone knows we’re still here."

WHAT THE ADULTS SAY: "Coming back is a deep appreciation for what Little League is for doing and doing in outstanding job with a difficult situation," Hawaii manager Gerald Oda said after coaching for the first time at the Series upon returning from COVID protocol. "I’m just so very happy and proud of these kids while I was away because they really played well. I was just glad to be back on the field."

WHAT THE KIDS SAY: "It’s good to have Coach Gerald back in the dugout," Watson said. "He always hugs us before the games and always support us even if we’re having a bad day."

WHAT IT MEANS: For the third time since 2018, the Honolulu Little League has reached Saturday’s semifinals. The 2018 world champions will play for the U.S. Championship Saturday against either Tennessee or the winner of Wednesday’s night’s Texas-Pennsylvania game which ended after press time. Tennessee dropped its first Series game but can earn a rematch against Hawaii in Saturday’s U.S. Final if it wins Thursday’s game.

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