Team from Honolulu heading to Prospect Meadows

A talented youth baseball team from Hawaii has travelled to various parts of the mainland this summer for major tournaments in Georgia, Missouri and Texas.

 One of their next stops on the long journey will be Prospect Meadows for the WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship from Sept. 17 to Sept. 20.

 The Hawaii Elite 2G Baseball Club, a 15U outfit, is based on Honolulu, which is approximately 4,042 miles from Prospect Meadows as the crow flies — if a crow could fly that far without numerous pit stops.

 Prospect Meadows has hosted teams from coast to coast, but never from Hawaii.

 It would take more than eight hours to fly by plane from Hawaii to Iowa, with layovers along the way, but this is a serious team with serious players and they wanted to play the best competition they can

 find. The Hawaiians tied for first place at a major Perfect Game event in Georgia and captured an outright title in Houston.

 Ten states will be represented at the Kernels Foundation Championship, with Hawaii joining Midwest entries from Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Nebraska, Illinois, Ohio and South Dakota.

 Tournament directors expect approximately 85 teams for the Kernels Foundation Championship. Perfect Game also expects about 75 teams for its Midwest Labor Day Classic Sept. 3-6, 46 clubs for the Midwest Select Championships Sept. 10-12 and 40 teams for another Midwest Select Championships event Sept. 24-27.

 All told, approximately 245 teams will be headed to Prospect Meadows in September, approaching the record 250 this past July.

 “It goes to show the amount of emphasis and commitment that Perfect Game has put into Prospect Meadows,” said Steve James, the general manager at Prospect Meadows.

 A series of PG tournaments in July, along with one Game Day event, drew 250 teams to Prospect Meadows that month, making it the busiest month at the 3-year-old facility to date.

 All those visiting teams pump millions of dollars into the local community. “For the community at large, it’s huge,” said James.

 Prospect Meadows also will feature a variety of activities in October before the baseball and softball season comes to an end. The Mya Strong Tournament is set for Oct. 16-17, along with the Mount Mercy

 Fall League, ICCAC softball scrimmages and a 14-inch softball tournament.

The fall Kiwanis Miracle League will continue on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon until Oct 2.

 Jack Roeder, the Prospect Meadows president and CEO, is looking forward to all the remaining action in October. “That’s going to be a big boost for us,” he remarked. “We have seven consecutive major weekends coming up, starting on Labor Day weekend.”