Eastvale Little Leaguers advance to regional championship after routing Hawaii, 11-3

The Eastvale Little League team is just one win away from advancing to the Little League World Series after beating Hawaii in a 11-3 rout on Tuesday afternoon. 

Eastvale came out to a relatively slow start in the grueling 102-degree heat, allowing two straight hits before Hawaii knocked in the first run of the game. However, Californians closed out strong with a strikeout to end the inning. 

The teens bounced back in the bottom of the first by driving in a run on a sacrifice fly to center field. 

The next two innings saw the scoring come to a grinding halt, with Eastvale recording the only hit for the stretch. However, in the fourth, the two teams went back at it, with Hawaii batting in two runs before the Riverside County kids took a 4-3 lead in the bottom half of the inning. 

While the game was close, entering the penultimate inning, Eastvale took the reigns and never looked back. The little leaguers started the bottom of the fifth inning with a solo home run to center field. 

The homer opened the floodgates for Eastvale, who knocked in six more runs and capped off the scoring streak with a grand slam to left field.

Hawaii failed to rally back, closing out the matchup with a double play in the top of the sixth. 

The team's next game is on Friday, the championship game of the Little League Baseball West Region tournament. Visitors can watch the game in person for free at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino.

Whatever Friday's outcome, the Eastvale Little Leaguers will have etched their names in Southern California history by being the first team in Riverside County ever to make the regional Little League Baseball tournament.