The Central East Maui Little League team fell 3-2 to Paseo Verde Little League of Henderson, Nevada of the Mountain Region on Monday.
CEM will try to avoid elimination on Tuesday and will face Pennsylvania’s Council Rock Newtown Little League of the Mid-Atlantic region on Tuesday at 9 a.m. HST.
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With ace pitcher Evan Tavares unavailable due to pitch count rules, Cam Kaneshiro and Gauge Pacheco split the pitching for Central East Maui. Kaneshiro pitched the first two innings, while Pacheco tossed the final four, getting tagged with the loss despite holding Nevada to two hits and an earned run with four strikeouts.
As a team, Hawaii had nine hits, including two each from Kaneshiro and Tavares, but weren’t able to gain separation at the plate, including an untimely double play to end the game on a dropped third strike.
Tavares will be available to pitch on Tuesday for Central East Maui.