GLENDALE, Ariz.- In an early morning first-round matchup, Team Kado Hawaii out-slugged Dub Baseball Dynasty 14U, 9-2, at White Sox 3 at Camelback Ranch on Thursday.
Powered by a five-run second, Kado used a flurry of hits to overpower the Dynasty defense. Jeremiah Lono supplied the power, crushing a home run to left in the third along with an RBI triple in the fifth.
The contest started quietly, as both offenses went down without making any noise. A pair of pickoffs by Dynasty starter Pace helped douse the fire on the basepaths in the bottom of the inning.
The scoring started in the bottom of the second when Kado tallied five hits en route to five runs, including a Beau Sylvester triple that plated two runs.
Dynasty got on the board in the third when a double followed by back-to-back singles loaded the bases with one away. An infield fly brought the second out, but Kester-Johnson singled up the middle to drive in the only two runs of the game for his squad.
Lono opened up the bottom of the frame with his solo shot, but a double play on a fly ball ended the inning abruptly for the Kado offense.
Both teams went down relatively quietly in the fourth, but Kado would add on to their lead in the fifth. Imiloa Koka was hit by a pitch, and then an error allowed Makane Honokaupu to reach base safely. Lono then tripled to drive in the eighth run of the morning.
A Kelton Tom RBI double would add one more run in the sixth before Matthew Dinae would shut down the seventh, giving Kado the first-round win.
Davin Lewis pitched well in the start for Kado, going 3.0 innings. Lewis allowed two runs on five hits and one walk, striking out one.
Holding things in place for Kado was Zachary Pascual, tossing 2.2 innings of shutout baseball. Pascual allowed just three hits and struck out four.
Team Kado Hawaii improves to 5-0 and will play their Sweet 16 matchup this afternoon.