Idaho vs. Hawaii in 2021 ALWS championship game

Idaho vs. Hawaii in 2021 ALWS championship game

Defending American Legion World Series champions Idaho Falls, Idaho, will face Honolulu in the 2021 ALWS championship game at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

The championship game was postponed from Tuesday due to inclement weather.

The game will be televised on ESPNU. You can also follow the action on the American Legion World Series app, available for download through the Apple Store and Google Play, and on social media through the American Legion Baseball and ALWS Shelby Twitter feeds.

Here’s a look at how the teams made it to the championship game:

Idaho Falls, Idaho, Post 56

The 2019 American Legion World Series champions are the 13th team to advance to consecutive title games; the 2020 series was canceled due to the pandemic. CF Kailer Howell is the only player remaining from that team on the roster.

Post 56 edged Midland, Mich., 3-2 in the first game of pool play, then dropped a 10-2 decision to eventual Stripes Division winner Dubuque County, Iowa, on Saturday. All four Stripes Division teams went into the final day of pool play with 1-1 records; Idaho earned a semifinal spot with a 13-3, six-inning win over Beverly, Mass.

That game was completed Monday morning due to bad weather Sunday night, which meant Idaho would have to play again the same day in the first semifinal. The extra work didn’t bother Post 56, who defeated Stars Division winner Tupelo, Miss., 9-3, to advance to the championship game.

Merit Jones is the expected starting pitcher for today’s game. He started the win over Michigan, allowing two runs and two hits over seven innings, with six strikeouts and four walks. 

Hawaii Team Central

The Honolulu squad’s first loss of the season had them sweating out another team’s game on Sunday to see if their season would continue.

Hawaii was 33-0, including 2-0 in pool play in Shelby, N.C., before a 4-0 loss to Tupelo, Miss., in both teams’ final pool play game on Saturday. That left both teams with 2-1 records, with Ridge, Md., poised to make it a three-way tie with a victory over Fargo, N.D., on Sunday.

The first tiebreaker for a three-way tie is fewest runs allowed overall. Both Mississippi and Hawaii had allowed seven runs overall; Maryland had allowed six entering their final game. A Maryland tiebreaker win would have eliminated Hawaii, but North Dakota’s squad scored three runs in a loss to Maryland, keeping Hawaii’s season alive.

Hawaii responded when they finally got a chance to take the field again. After their semifinal game against Dubuque County, Iowa, was postponed from Monday night to Tuesday night due to weather, Hawaii pounded out 11 hits, including the team’s first home run of the series, in a 9-1 win.

Ty Yukumoto is slated to start on the mound for Hawaii. In the pool play win over Maryland, Yukumoto allowed two runs and two hits in 6 2/3 innings, with six strikeouts and one walk.


American Legion Baseball

American Legion Baseball

American Legion Baseball enjoys a reputation as one of the most successful and tradition-rich amateur athletic leagues. Today, the program registers more than 5,400 teams in all 50 states, including Canada and Puerto Rico.

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