Pearland lost 6-0 against Hawaii on Aug. 22, and it will now face a win or go home elimination game against Iowa on Aug. 23.
Hawaii took the early lead off a two-run homerun to left field by third baseman Daly Watson in the bottom of the first inning.
Pearland's Jacolby Mayberry reached base by walking at the top of the third inning. He was able to advance to second base following a wild pitch by Hawaii starting pitcher Cohen Sakamoto, but nothing came of moving into scoring position as both batters that followed Mayberry were taken out by Hawaii. Sakamoto gave up 0 hits on 60 pitches through four innings for Hawaii.
At the bottom of the fourth inning, Hawaii doubled its lead off another two-run homerun, this time by shortstop Jaron Lancaster. Pearland avoided extra trouble as starting pitcher Jackson Wolfe was able to get the third out on a line drive to left field with the bases loaded. Wolfe threw 51 pitches in three full innings and allowed four earned runs.
The Pearland All Stars made some noise at the top of the fifth inning. Outfielder Cooper Arbaugh got on base on a walk, and he later advanced to second off another wild pitch. He was followed by infielder Cohen Hartman, who got on base after getting hit by a pitch.
The traffic forced Hawaii to move Lancaster to pitcher after Jonnovyn Sniffen’s brief time on the mound. Lancaster got Jacob Zurek to pop out and end Pearland’s chances to score in the fifth.
Hawaii then added two insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth off a triple by Sakamoto. Pearland’s Kaiden Shelton broke Hawaii’s no-hitter at the top of the sixth inning with a single. Shelton moved up to second base off another wild pitch, but the All Stars failed to capitalize again as outfielder Manny Castillo struck out swinging to end the game.
The All Stars will play again Aug. 23 against Davenport, Iowa, with the game scheduled to start at 6 p.m. CT. If Pearland loses another game, the Southwest champions will be eliminated from the Little League World Series tournament.
