Pearl City completed an unbeaten run through the Little League Junior (ages 13-14) West Regional, beating host Beaverton, Ore., 2-1, yesterday in 10 innings of the championship game.

Pearl City, which finished the regional with a 7-0 record, advances to the World Series, Aug. 12 to 18, in Taylor, Mich. Beaverton finished 5-2.

Kahana Neal and Sumi Pruett teamed on a five-hitter for Pearl City, with Neal striking out seven and walking one in seven innings and Pruett fanning four without a walk in three.

Isaac Shim scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th. Shim reached on a walk, took second on a sacrifice, reached third on the second out and scored on a wild pitch.

Pearl City took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth when Pruett, who batted 2 for 5, doubled and scored on Christian Perkins' double.

Pearl City's players and coaches received medals for winning the regional's sportsmanship award, which was voted on by the umpires.

Pearl City will have a bye on the first day of the World Series before meeting Anderson, S.C. in its first game.

LITTLE LEAGUE

WAIPI'O ELIMINATED

Waipi'o's youth proved no match for the patience showed by Chandler, Ariz. in last night's Little League (ages 11-12) West Regional semifinal game.

Chandler drew seven walks in the first three innings, and Luke Parrish and Kyle Pechloff hit two-run homers to lead the Arizona representative to an 8-1 victory. Chandler will face Solana Beach, Calif. in tomorrow's regional final.

Waipi'o starter Khade Paris, who pitched well in two previous regional games, couldn't find his rhythm last night. He threw 80 pitches in 2 1/3 innings, and only 39 were strikes. The only two hits he allowed were the home runs.

"We just wanted to ride Paris and hope he could give us what he had in the first two games," said Waipi'o manager Timo Donahue. "They hit good pitches for the home runs, but he wasn't getting ahead of the batters on the count."

Waipi'o closed to 5-1 in the top of the fourth when it drew three walks before Paris scored on a wild pitch.

Chandler got a run back in the bottom of the fourth and Seth Fretheim closed the scoring with a two-run homer.

Pechloff and Dalton Krum teamed on a three-hitter. Pechloff struck out the last six batters he faced before being removed in the sixth because of the 85-pitch limit.

Although Waipi'o finished with a 1-4 record, it gave a credible performance. Waipi'o started five 11-year-olds who are eligible for another year of play, and dropped two one-run games that went to the final out.

"We were smaller and younger than the teams in this tournament and in our state tournament, but we have a good group of 11-year-olds," said Donahue, whose son, Christian, had two hits yesterday. "We were smaller than kids in the state tournament, but this team worked hard and had a lot of drive. This was a great experience for the kids.

"The kids gave us all they had," he added, "and I'm proud of them for getting this far."

— By George Alfano
Special to The Advertiser