World champs return to Hilo
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
Hilo, Hawai'i — Manager Hale Decker kept telling his baseball players over and over they were going to the World Series on the Mainland, and they were going to win.
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That may sound like a long shot from small-town Hilo, but he got the kids believing. He got many of the parents to believe, too.
The Little League Senior World Series champions pose for family, friends and neighbors, who greeted them with lei and plate lunches at the Hilo airport.
And yesterday about 200 believers, including family members, friends and neighbors turned out to greet the championship team at the airport.
The Hilo All-Star Little League Senior (ages 14-16) team returned home to cheers after defeating Central Chesterfield, Va., 16-8, Saturday in the championship game of the World Series in Bangor, Maine.
Big Island Mayor Harry Kim urged Hilo residents to greet the players and coaches, and the Hilo airport fire department used its trucks to blast water over the arriving Hawaiian Airlines plane in a wet salute to the champions.
Friends, family and autograph seekers waited in the airport lobby area with arm-loads of flower lei, and plate lunches.
What is different about this team, said Decker, is their loyalty, their upbringing and their discipline. Rather than go sightseeing before the games in the mornings, the team opted to practice, he said. "They really worked hard to get where they got."
The team spent almost a month on the road, leaving Hawai'i on July 25. They won the division tournament in Tigard, Ore., and took the Western Regional title in Lemoore, Calif., by defeating a San Jose team on Aug. 6.
They had an inauspicious start in the World Series four days later, losing to Central Chesterfield, 8-2, after sleeping less than two hours the night before because of the travel time to reach Maine.
But Hilo pressed on, and in a critical semifinal game Friday, Myles Ioane pitched a two-hitter with nine strikeouts to beat defending Senior Little League World Series champion Curacao, 3-2.
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On Sunday, Hilo faced Chesterfield again, and defeated them in the final game of the series at Mansfield Stadium.
Catcher Owen Otsuka obliges an autograph seeker as he signs a copy of a newspaper account of the team's 16-8 victory in the championship game.
"We feel great," said coach Charlie Haasenritter. "They took us on a wonderful journey."
Several family members said they thought this would be the big year, and the team would win the World Series.
"They were so in tune with one another, and I just felt that they would go all the way," said Mary Lou Haasenritter, mother of 16-year-old Matt Haasenritter. "They were so confident without being sassy or overconfident. They just felt that this was going to be their time. I think all the planets were aligned."
Matt, a Hilo High School student, will have fond memories of his first trip to the Mainland: He was a leading batter, with three doubles, three runs and two RBIs in the championship game. He also caught the fly ball in right field to end the game.
"It was like everything was moving in slow motion, that kind of thing, me running in from right field and seeing everybody jumping and throwing their gloves," Haasenritter said. "That was the greatest feeling I've ever felt."
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The team compiled an 18-2 record during the month-long trip, and people they met along the way were impressed with more than their hitting and fielding: Officials and coaches from other teams remarked at how respectful the Hilo players were.
The World Series champions walk through Hilo airport to awaiting well-wishers, who lavished the team with cheers.
While Mainland teams liked to "chirp" or make noise to psyche out their opponents, that wasn't allowed in the Hilo dugout, Decker said. "We only cheer. We sing 'Hawai'i Pono'i' to our flag before every game, and it was just an awesome feeling."
Most of the players from Waiakea and Hilo high schools live in the Waiakea Uka and Waiakea areas of Hilo, and some of the coaches and players have been training and playing together for 10 years, parents said.
Kahi Spencer had a permanent batting cage set up for him and his brother in their Waiakea Uka home, and the neighborhood kids would stop in for practice swings. The boys played since they were very small, and Kahi's father, Robin, is a team coach.
Ruth Andrade, Kahi's grandmother, said she expected great things from the team because they had been playing together for years, and worked hard.
"Hilo is really proud," she said. "Hilo is really proud of these kids."
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
