Davenport Northwest, Iowa, coach Ed Grothus has a simple theory when it comes to Little League Baseball.

"Home runs win Little League games," Grothus said after West O'ahu hit three home runs against his team Sunday in a 7-3 win. "Mark my word, as this tournament progresses home runs will win these games. That's just the way it is."

If that is the case, West O'ahu has a good chance of becoming the first Hawai'i team to win the World Series.

West O'ahu has made the home run its speciality this summer and has put on a frightening power display in its first three Little League World Series games. The Northwest champions hit eight home runs in those games while easily defeating Pennsylvania, Iowa and Florida by a combined 24-4 margin.

"We don't think about home runs," West O'ahu manager Layton Aliviado said. "We just go up and hit hard and hit it in the gaps. If the home runs come then they come. We tell the kids just hit hard and run hard and play hard, that's all."

West O'ahu will be trying to hit the ball hard once again at 1:30 p.m. today (Hawai'i time) when it plays Lafayette, La., in the second of two U.S. semifinal games. The winner of today's game advances to Saturday's national championship. Saturday's winner advances to the world title game Sunday.

West O'ahu is trying to become the first team from Hawai'i reach the world championship since Pearl City in 1988. Pearl City lost in the final.

"They are a heck of a team," Louisiana manager Mike Conrad said. "They dismantled most of the teams they've played here."

Louisiana lost for the first time in three Little League World Series games two nights ago, leaving 10 runners on base in a 9-3 loss to California. The Southwest champions finished pool play 2-1 and needed two dramatic comebacks to reach the U.S. semifinals.

On Saturday, Louisiana scored three times in the sixth inning against Maine to erase a 2-0 deficit and win, 3-2. The following day, Louisiana overcame an 8-1 third-inning deficit and scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth again as it stunned Kentucky, 9-8.

Andrew Stevenson hit .556 for Louisiana during pool play with most of those hits coming on bunts. Jace Conrad is hitting .500 and has hit the only home run during the series for Louisiana.

The Southwest champions, however, have struggled with their pitching and Conrad said he is undecided about who he will throw against West O'ahu. Ace Jace Conrad allowed just one run in 12 innings at the Southwest Regional but surrendered seven runs and two home runs in less than two innings against Kentucky.

Aliviado has several options. While ace Alaka'i Aglipay cannot pitch since he threw a complete game in West O'ahu's 10-0 win three days ago, Quintin Guevara, Myron Enos and Vonn Fe'ao all are available. All three pitched in pool play and combined to allow just two earned runs in 10 innings while striking out 15. Enos pitched 4 2/3 innings against Iowa and struck out 10.

"We just have to look at who's fresh and see what pitchers can go," Aliviado said.

Whoever pitches against West O'ahu will have to make sure he masters pitch location and does not leave balls down the middle of the plate.

West O'ahu is unbeaten in 15 games this season and has scored 157 runs in those contests. The Hawai'i state champs ran wild over the Northwest Regional competition, outscoring their six opponents, 87-19.

The biggest problem for West O'ahu's opponents is the team's balance. Five different players, ranging from the third spot to the seventh spot in the lineup, hit homers in West O'ahu's three pool-play wins.

West O'ahu's Northwest Regional opponents know this all too well. Cleanup hitter Sheyne Baniaga went 13 for 18 with five home runs at regionals, prompting some teams to walk him. But doing so put an extra runner on base for someone such as Fe'ao, a big 5-foot-7, 149-pound third baseman. All he did was go 11 for 15 with six home runs and 12 RBIs.

"In regionals they tried to walk Sheyne, but we still had a lot of power after him," Aliviado said. "That's good to have because they can't only walk one guy. We don't have just one guy. We have about seven or eight who can hit it over the fence."