Putting a positive spin on a disappointing evening, members of the Mililani youth baseball team said the experience of playing in the World Series was worth it.

Mililani lost to Caguas, Puerto Rico, 3-1, in the P.O.N.Y. League Pony-13 (13-year-olds) title game last night at Chino Hills, Calif.

"It was really fun because this is the farthest any of us have ever gotten," third baseman Brett Kakugawa said. "We just gotta practice just as hard and try again."

He scored in the third inning after hitting a double with one out, and Kainoa Inafuku singled to bring him home.

Puerto Rico's Jouany Padilla tied the game on a solo home run in the fourth, and Kelvin Rivas scored the go-ahead run.

"(The home run) was a bomb, and it tied up the game," said pitcher Raymond Sugihara, who finished with nine strikeouts. "I got a little shaky after that, but my 'D' backed me up and we finished the inning."

Ricardo Barbosa scored Puerto Rico's third run when Mililani's catcher threw to first base on a dropped third strike.

Mililani won two awards: Inafuku for the lowest earned run average (0.00) and catcher Keanu Carmichael won the batting title (.571).

"I think we could have done better, but most of us gave our all," Carmichael said. "It was a great experience, because most people haven't got this far yet."

Mililani advanced by winning all three games in pool play, beating teams from Ohio, Florida and California.

"The ball just bounced the wrong way for us, and they made the plays out there on the field," coach Les Ebato said.