Central East Maui takes LLBWS opener

Central East Maui won its opening game of the Little League World Series with a 3-1 victory over Salem Little League of New Hampshire on Wednesday.

Central East Maui advances to face Hinsdale Little League of Illinois on Friday at 9 a.m. HST on ESPN.

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On Wednesday, Central East Maui scored all three of its runs in the bottom of the first inning, led by a two-RBI single from Hayden Takahashi, who finished with a game-high two hits.

Evan Tavares, Kanon Nakama, Kamalei Leynes-Santos and Brextyn Hong split the pitching duties for Central East Maui, giving up just one total hit. Tavares got the start and the win, recording all seven of his outs via strikeout. He was removed after reaching the 35 pitch threshold, allowing him to come back on Friday.

Hong took the mound for Central East Maui with the bases loaded and one out, earning the save after Eassie Miller caught a line drive and stepped on third base for a game-ending unassisted double play.