An approaching Category 5 Hurricane Lane packing over 150 mph winds threatened to devastate our islands. On Wednesday, Aug. 22 the islands of Hawaii faced a potential hit from Hurricane Lane.

Meanwhile, over 4,500 miles away, fourteen middle school athletes and their Hawaii Manager Gerald Oda were representing the Western Region of Honolulu, Hawaii at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  

With their island home on their minds, they entered the U.S. championship with an outstanding record of 3-0.

“What they’re going through is very difficult — we’ve been there — all of us when these storms have come,” Oda said to his team during a press conference with ABC News.

Despite their worry of Hurricane Lane, Team West defeated Southeast with a score of 3-0 to advance to the World Championship game against South Korea.  The win was largely due to Aukai Kea’s outstanding performance on the mound. In a six-inning game, Kea struck out 15 batters.

On Sunday, Aug. 26 Team West got the great news that Hurricane Lane was downgraded to a tropical storm. 

With Hawaii first at-bat, Mana Lau Kong hit a home run off of the first pitch by South Korea. For the rest of the game, Hawaii continued with two more runs for the shutout.

With a score of 3-0, the Honolulu Little League team brought home the World-Series Title for the people of Hawaii during this stressful time.

“We said that if anything, for them to watch us, we gave them hope,” Oda stated.