Hawaii’s Rasa has stifled many batters in Series

BANGOR – After his complete-game win Sunday, many observers assumed Pearl City, Hawaii pitcher Jason Rasa wouldn’t make another start in the Senior League World Series. Rasa threw 132 pitches in the 10-inning, 5-3 win over Asia-Pacific representative Agana, Guam, on the opening day of pool play.

Fix days later, Rasa was back on the mound where he logged Hawaii’s biggest victory yet, a 4-3 semifinal win over Freehold Township, N.J., to lift Pearl City into Saturday’s World Series title game.

Pearl City manager Gary Nakayama said Friday’s starter came down to Rasa and Shannon Liu.

Liu, who earned a 6-3 win over Clarksville, Ga., Monday morning, would have likely been a fine choice.

But Rasa told Nakayama he wanted to pitch.

“And the boys wanted Jason so I said, OK,” Nakayama said after Friday’s win.

Liu will get his opportunity to start this afternoon in the World Series championship game against Urbandale, Iowa.

Rasa, who also earned a save with one inning of work (and 26 pitches) in Tuesday’s win over Canada, allowed five hits and three earned runs while walking four and striking out one. He threw another 108 pitches, including 69 for strikes.

Nakayama was pleased with his starter’s effort, even as Rasa allowed three runs in the third.

“He did his job,” Nakayama said. “He was kind of shaky that inning and I think he was kind of getting down, but at least we came back with three [runs]. That helped him out, picked him up a lot.”

Hawaii fan support strong

The stands behind the Pearl City dugout were packed with fans but more than that, whole Senior League World Series teams were sitting behind the Hawaii dugout, too.

The Pearl City players might have expected the Guam team to be supportive – after all, Hawaii and Guam both have the connection of coming from islands in the Pacific Ocean and the teams had a cookout together one evening earlier this week.

But even the Canadian team from Thunder Bay, Ontario, the U.S. Central squad from Urbandale, Iowa, and the team representing the Europe-Middle East-Africa region from Tbilisi in the former Soviet republic of Georgia were all rooting for Hawaii.

“It gives us inspiration in the game,” said Pearl City first baseman Kellen Ushijima. “It helps us. If we’re down we can always use that to bring us back up again. It was good to have that.”

Early challenges overcome

One lesson of this year’s Senior League World Series is that perseverance can pay off.

Three of the four teams that played in Friday’s two semifinals advanced to the final four despite losing the first game of pool play.

Only Pearl City, Hawaii, emerged from its first game unbeaten – earning a 5-3 victory over Agana, Guam, in 10 innings after rallying in the seventh inning to tie the game.

That was one of three pool victories won with last-inning heroics by the U.S. West champion, which will try to become the second Hawaiian team in three years to win the Senior League World Series when it faces Urbandale, Iowa, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Hilo, Hawaii, which Pearl City defeated twice in this year’s state tournament, won the 2003 SLWS crown.

Meanwhile Urbandale, Clarkesville, Ga., and Freehold Township. N.J., all lost their SLWS openers this year – with the Clarkesville team also losing its first two games of pool play at the U.S. South regional.

Urbandale lost its pool opener 6-4 to Latin America champion Santiago Veraguas, Panama, before bouncing back with three straight wins in pool play followed by Friday’s 6-2 semifinal victory over Clarkesville, Ga.

“I think playing Latin America in the first game toughened us up and really woke us up in terms of what the talent was going to be here,” said Urbandale shortstop Mike Hoberg.

Now this Urbandale team, which lost four straight pool games in the 2003 Junior League World Series, is just one victory away from another goal – reaching the .500 mark in their two Series opportunities.

“These kids, as good as they are and as good as this team is, there’s always doubt until you get that first win,” said Urbandale manager John Hoberg. “Now they know that with one more win, we’re 5-5 in World Series play.”

Not to mention world champions.