June 29, 2024
WESTMINSTER, Colo. – For one day at least, the least demanding job in the world was being the first-base coach when Jerrell Mailo came to bat.
A class of 2026 star playing up with the Polynesia 18u squad at the Triple Crown International Challenge, Mailo had two impressive home runs and a double, providing critical offensive fireworks as her team eked past South Korea, 11-10, to go 2-0 on Friday and dial in on a title run at the event.
No surprise there, as Polynesia has two 16u titles and one at 18u in the three years of the event.
"We've been here before – sure we want to go undefeated in pool play, but we want to finish it off right on Sunday," sad head coach Josh Capello. "We've got to get the girls to mesh – it's a challenge because of the travel, and we want to get as many of the girls in as we can."
After South Korea scored two runs in the top of the first inning, a two-run homer from Mailo and a two-run double from Kayara-Leigh Tuiloma (who is committed to play collegiately at Hawaii) put Polynesia on top, and the game see-sawed back and forth through all four innings.
In the top of the fourth, South Korea took the lead on a bizarre play, when two runs came across on a wild pitch. That was something of a theme in the matchup as defensive mistakes by Polynesia kept opening the door and keeping things tight on the scoreboard.
In the bottom of the fourth, Mailo led off with her second home run. Day-Lee Williams (Georgia) reached on an error and Kezia Lucas (Arizona) tied the game with an RBI double – heroics are old hat for Lucas, who hit a walkoff home run last year to give Polynesia the 16u championship.
Needing one more key swing, Ayla Tuua answered the call with a sacrifice fly, and Polynesia exited with the victory.
"We know each other some from last year, and it helped how well we played. We are really close, and that's something you can tell," Lucas said. "She was throwing changeups a lot of the time (before the double). She's a really good pitcher, and I was just thinking line drive up the middle, get on base."
"I just tried to clear my head. Being in that moment, I wanted to trust my abilities," Mailo said. "Keep my head up, no matter what. To go 2-0, we've bonded better than most teams, and we want to represent ourselves, our countries and our families."
Anny Cuellar hit a three-run homer for South Korea in the second inning.
