Ahead of LLBWS, Central East Maui carried by dominance of Evan Tavares

Baseball is touted as a team sport, but no one person has been more responsible for Central East Maui reaching the Little League World Series than ace pitcher Evan Tavares.

Tavares, the team’s bona fide ace, has been on a run as dominant as any pitcher to come out of the state. In the state tournament, he struck out 15 Kaneohe batters in a five-inning win. At the West Regional, Tavares struck out 27 in 11.1 innings, going 2-0 without allowing an earned run.

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Central East Maui coach Daniel Bolduc has said he believes things are different for his team when Tavares is on the mound, and they’ve taken his lead all the way to Williamport.

Tavares’ whippy left-handed release, combined with his high velocity fastball, has stifled hitters. His repertoire also features a breaking that he throws enough to keep hitters off balance, as well as nearly flawless control. In regionals, he didn’t walk a single batter.

Tavares says he models his pitching after Aroldis Chapman, another left-handed pitcher who currently holds the record for fastest pitch in MLB history at 105.8 MPH. At the plate, Tavares, who hit .500 at regionals and hits second in the CEM lineup, and said his main influence there is Cody Bellinger.

Despite the pressures that have come with the team’s national platform, Tavares says he takes a simple approach to pitching.

“I just perform like a regular game, nobody’s there,” Tavares told KHON2. ‘I just block everybody out and just do my thing.

“When I was pitching, a little nervous in the championship game because it was a lot of people. But at the end of it, I got used to it kind of. I just did my thing.”

Indeed, a crowd of over 10,000 was on hand to watch Central East Maui take on de facto host Eastvale in San Bernadino, Calif. in a game that came down to the wire.

“There was like 10,000 Eastvale people and 15 Hawaii people. It was crazy,” Evan’s father, Shandon, recalled. “A lot of supporters for Eastvale. It was overcoming our fears and it was stressful, but I knew Evan would block them off.”

Tavares’ mother, Jasmine, says his son began playing baseball when he was “about 5 or 6” in T-ball. A natural lefty, she recalls a young Evan taking a special interest in the pitching mound, even when he was not at the age where kids were allowed to pitch yet.

Noticing their son’s desire to pitch, Jasmine and Shandon set up targets on a wall in their backyard for Evan to practice on, and he utilized it almost every day.

Jasmine and Shandon say success on the mound in games arrived immediately for Evan, with Shandon noticing players were having trouble adjusting to left-handed pitching. Only 10% percent of the population is left-handed, while only about a quarter of the pitchers in the MLB are southpaws.

Evan says good control was always a part of his game and never left, even as his velocity began to steadily increase.

To Evan’s parents, watching their son succeed has been a joy.

“For us, it’s been really fun,” Jasmine Tavares said. “Overwhelming but fun at the same time, meeting all these new kids and playing against the different teams, especially at the regionals. It’s been really fun, especially seeing the type of level the other teams play at, it was a good experience I think for the kids.”

To Shandon, Evan’s dominance has not taken away from the stress of watching games.

“Oh, stressful,” Shandon Tavares said. “I like seeing him do what he does, but it’s stressful. More white hairs for me. But he can do it, I have faith in him and that’s what he loves, so I know he can do it.

“A bit stressful for us, just watching him compete, you know? Every time he gets on the mound, he does what he does.”

Central East Maui has been in Williamsport, the Mecca of youth baseball, for a few days, and Tavares has cherished the experience, calling it “super fun” and he’s “super excited” for the games to start.

On Monday, he said he wasn’t told yet it he’s get the start in CEM’s series opener against New Hampshire on Wednesday, which starts at 9 a.m. HST on ESPN. Were Maui to win on Wednesday, they’d play against Hinsdale Little League of Illinois, who received a first round bye, on Friday. Per Little League rules, Tavares can throw up to 35 pitches on Wednesday and still be available to throw 85 pitches, the single-game limit, on Friday.

Despite the fun and anticipation, Tavares says he knows the team is capable of hitting better than it did at regionals, where CEM hit .207 as a team.

When competition begins on Wednesday, Central East Maui will take the field at Howard J. Lamade Stadium, one of baseball’s most iconic venues, just another unforgettable moment in a summer full of them for a team that has traveled the country together.

“It kind of feels like family now,” Tavares said of his teammates.