Pearl City, the Senior Little League World Series champion, receives welcome surprise upon return
Seemingly every summer, baseball fans gather at the airport to greet a national champion and each time Hawaii’s heroes walk into it surprised.
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Seemingly every summer, baseball fans gather at the airport to greet a national champion and each time Hawaii’s heroes walk into it surprised.
Pearl City returned home as the Senior Little League World Series champions on Sunday and were met with a slew of supporters headed by Mayor Rick Blangiardi. The players, who knew something was up when they were held at the gate for 45 minutes while people prepared the surprise party, each wore looks of astonishment when they turned a corner and saw the throng that awaited them.
“We didn’t expect this much people,” Pearl City player Braden Say said. “We expected our families, but for the whole PC community to be here and other parts of the state too, it’s a real blessing.”
The team won the World Series for players between 13 and 16 years old the hard way, dropping its first game before topping Newark, Del., for the United States championship and Curacao for the world title in Easley, S.C. It was even more valuable for the seven veterans on the team who suffered the indignity of a 5-4 loss to Tampa, Fla., in the United States championship three years ago. Tytan Takahashi, the coach’s son, pitched in that loss and had two hits in the victory over Curacao.
“I wanted that back,” Takahashi said. “For three years I wanted it back really bad. Once we got to that U.S. championship we knew we couldn’t let it happen again and then we won the whole thing.”
Players and coaches credited chemistry as the biggest difference between runner-up and champion, a bond that has been building for more than a decade of their young lives.
“This group right here, I knew they were special from the start,” assistant coach Mike Oasay said. “They are not like the biggest names but together they are tough to beat. You can’t fake chemistry; chemistry will beat talent; a team will always beat individuals.”
That chemistry was tested on the first day of the World Series, when head coach Ty Takahashi sat two starters for disciplinary reasons and the team lost to Macon, Ga., 4-1. Such drama could have easily torn apart a team of teenage boys and their overzealous parents, but instead it galvanized the group even further. They followed the loss with five straight victories and outscored opponents 39-7 with three shutouts.
“I had to stick to my guns and what I believe in and I really believe that’s what helped us come out stronger,” Ty Takahashi said. “I tried to put God more in the forefront this time I believe, and I was more strict with the boys. I’m always strict with them but I was stricter. We took chances and I did what I felt I had to do and it ended up helping us.”
Justin Raine Kamana‘o-Bulosan was on the 2023 team and pitched a shutout in the final this year. Other members of the team are Ryden Kohagura, Kyson Hueu, Ryley Omine, Maddox Oasay, Graiden Duke, Boston Schwagger, Logan Calleon, Curren Todoroki, Noah Propios, Will Kojima, Kysen Kitagawa, Brady Yamatsuka and Evan Fox.
“It was a line drive to centerfield to end the game,” Kamana‘o-Bulosan said. “It was definitely an out to remember for a lifetime for sure. That loss lived with me for a while. We talked about it a lot. Just getting back to that moment and winning it all just felt so good.”
Now the boys will take a well-deserved break from baseball before most of them suit up for the Chargers and try to avenge a first-round loss to Moanalua in last year’s state tournament. Pearl City hasn’t won the OIA since 2010 when these athletes were infants. No matter what happens with them, they will always have that glorious day at the airport.
“It’s just a blessing to have this much people come out, it is always surprising,” Tytan Takahashi said. “I didn’t expect this much people, so much support and love and this is what Pearl City baseball is.”
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