Marcus Yoshii of the Waipi'o Little League has the stuff, control and poise to throw a perfect game every time he takes the mound.

Even violating a baseball superstition — jinxing by his teammates during the game — couldn't stop him from accomplishing the feat in the Little League Majors Division (ages 11-12) District 7 tournament at Central O'ahu Regional Park.

"My teammates were telling me (about the perfect game) so there was sort of a pressure," said Yoshii, a left-hander who will attend Punahou School this fall.

In his second perfect game of the season, Yoshii struck out 14 (of 18 batters) and didn't allow a ball out of the infield in a 1-0 victory over Pearl City on July 7.

"I've got a great defense behind me and that's why I got that perfect game," he said. "They helped me out."

Yoshii also threw a perfect game with 16 strikeouts in league play. (Waipi'o is an all-star team created from the four-team league).

"From Day 1, the kid had an unbelievable attitude," Waipi'o coach Timo Donahue said. "As far as pitching he is very advanced for his age — command, mental toughness and movement on his fastball, changeup."

Another advantage is that the 13-year-old is pitching closer to the plate.

Yoshii, who qualifies for the 11-12 age group because he did not turn 13 before May 1, is back on a mound that's 46 feet from home plate. Earlier this summer, he was pitching from the regulation 60 feet, 6 inches on Punahou's AAU team.

"It looks real short," he said of the distance.

Donahue said Yoshii started about 10 games this regular season. But since Little League rules limit pitchers to throwing only six innings a week and the team plays twice a week, Yoshii was often pulled when the team had a big lead.

Brody Asuncion and Nicolas Ogasawara will follow Yoshii in the rotation for the upcoming state tournament. All three are "great pitchers," according to Waipi'o pitching coach Gregg Tsugawa.

Yoshii though is clearly the one who stands out. His favorite pitchers are Oakland's Barry Zito, the New York Yankees' Randy Johnson and Houston's Roger Clemens. Yoshii wears jersey No. 51 — Johnson's number.

"He throws hard, has great breaking stuff," Tsugawa said. "He's always around the plate and stays in control of himself."

Tsugawa said Yoshii throws mainly fastballs and changeups, and uses his curve "very rarely, maybe about two percent of the pitches he does throw throughout the whole game."

Yoshii said he throws three different types of fastballs: two-seam (grip), four-seam, cutter.

Donahue, a Damien Memorial and University of Washington alum, said Yoshii usually gives up "one or two hits" a game.

On offense, Donahue said, "We have guys making contact and the team speed is good."

Waipi'o outscored its three district tournament opponents 11-1 to advance to the state tournament, July 21 to 24 at Eddie Tam Field in Makawao, Maui.

The winner of the six-team tournament advances to the Western Regional at San Bernardino, Calif., Aug. 4 to 13. The World Series is Aug. 18 to 27 at Williamsport, Pa.

All regional finals and World Series games are broadcast on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

"For 12-year-olds you want to be right here (in the Majors Division)," Donahue said. "You have one chance at it. Kids dream to play in the World Series."

Waipi'o is trying to follow in the footsteps of the West O'ahu Little League of 'Ewa Beach, which won the state's first Little League Majors World Series last year. A team from the Waipi'o Little League reached Williamsport in 2002.

"What (West O'ahu) did is a tough thing to duplicate," Donahue said. "It's good to see a team from Hawai'i get that far and win."

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.