Hilo’s Mustang 9 falls at PONY regional
Simi Valley edged Hilo 9-8 in the West regional at Walnut, Calif., for ages 9-10, on Friday.
Hilo will play Hart on Saturday in an elimination game.
Through his Hui Aumakua club team, coach Shon Malani has churned out five state champions. His current group won a pair of Pinto titles last season in player-pitch and coach-pitch. An older group also won the Mustang 9s title in 2013 and the Broncos 11 crown last season.
His Mustang 9 is the only Big Island team to qualify for regionals.