Aloha means hello and goodbye: The Waipio All-Stars’ victory over Hamilton, Ohio, means that Hawaii has earned a rematch with Columbus, Georgia, in the Little League World Series. That game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday at Lamade Stadium.
Hawaii was Columbus’ first victim in the LLWS back on Saturday — Columbus spotted their opponents a 2-0 lead in the top of the first but powered back with four runs in the bottom half of the inning; pitchers Jared Pate and Troy Gilliland combined to allow just one more hit for the remainder of the game, which meant the Columbus Little Leaguers were able to coast to a 6-2 win.
If Columbus loses in the rematch, they’ll face a rubber match against Hawaii at 2 p.m. Friday, with the winner advancing to the U.S. championship on Friday; if they beat Hawaii tonight, they advance to the U.S. championship outright.