Little League World Series 2022 results: Hawaii breezes past Tennessee to win U.S. championship

• Little League World Series championship: Hawaii vs. Curacao live updates, results

When talking about Hawaii's Little League team, two names tend to come to mind: Jaron Lancaster and Cohen Sakamoto.

The two-way stars have paced the Hawaiians at the plate and on the mound in this year's tournament.

But on Saturday, with Hawaii on the brink of a U.S. title, the supporting cast came to play.

Take Ruston Hiyoto, for example. The outfielder had put up a decent showing in the LLWS, but then he nabbed the biggest hit of the tournament, a moonshot to dead center field to fuel a 5-1 win.

Ruston Hiyoto rocket 🚀 #LLWS pic.twitter.com/GdyunqRMmy

— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 27, 2022

It was a perfect day for a team that has looked perfect for much of the LLWS. With a +45 run differential, Hawaii has been on the most dominant run in recent Series history.

MORE: Watch the Little League World Series live with fuboTV (free trial)

Despite giving up his first hit in the LLWS, Sakamoto was lights-out for most of the day. He struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings, mixing a fiery fastball with filthy breaking pitches.

All he needed was a little run support. Hiyoto provided the bulk of it with his two-run dinger.

Hawaii brings the Little League United States Championship back to the West! pic.twitter.com/24COyNFhBw

— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 27, 2022

Now, the Hawaiians will prepare to face off in Sunday's championship game against international champion Curacao. If Hawaii is able to secure the victory, it will have put the finishing touches on one of the most dominant tournaments in LLWS history.

The Sporting News tracked live updates from Saturday's game. Below are the highlights and live results from the U.S. final at Lamade Stadium (all times Eastern).

Little League World Series live updates, highlights from Hawaii vs. Tennessee

Sixth inning

5:39 p.m.: Hiramoto gets the K! Hawaii wins the U.S. championship and moves onto the LLWS final!

5:37 p.m.: ...But second baseman Kekoa Payanal takes it away, getting hold of a line drive before whizzing it to first to get the double play.

5:33 p.m.: Rhodes notches hit second hit of the day to give Tennessee a bit of life.

Fifth inning

5:31 p.m.: McNiel gets out the inning unscathed! Tennessee's ace coaxes more weak contact to get Hawaii to pop out at third.

One more inning to go. Time to empty the tank if you're Tennessee, you'd imagine.

5:29 p.m.: After getting another out, McNiel hits yet another batter, this time Ruston Hiyoto. Two on, two away for McNiel.

5:28 p.m.: Brennan Tomas takes first after being hit with a pitch.

5:26 p.m.: McNiel fields a pop-up around the pitcher's mound for the first out of the fifth.

5:22 p.m.: Just like clockwork, it's one-pitch, one-out for reliever Luke Hiramoto. Hawaii is three outs away from the U.S. championship title.

5:19 p.m.: That's the end of the line for Sakamoto, who put together another strong showing on Saturday. The final line: 4.2 innings, seven strikeouts and just two hits surrendered. That'll make for a good day at the office.

5:18 p.m.: It seemed Sakamoto was headed for another 1-2-3 inning. However, utility man Lane Dever with puts together a wonderful effort with two strikes. Eventually, Dever slaps a ball into left field to get on base.

Fourth inning

5:10 p.m.: And McNiel gets the strikeout! Throws a beautiful breaking ball that tails out of the zone to strike out Lancaster. That's how it's done!

Hawaii leads 5-1 through four innings.

5:08 p.m.: McNiel finding it a bit difficult at the moment. Esaiah Wong gets on with a single. Then, McNiel hits a batter.

Two ducks on the pond for Lancaster. Could get worse here.

5:01 p.m.: Boom! Ruston Hyoto turns on a fastball and sends into orbit. Straight to dead center.

That's gonna give Hawaii a little more breathing room. 5-1 advantage for the Hawaiians now.

4:59 p.m.: Mikah Nola takes first base after absorbing a hit by pitch from McNiel. One on, known away in the bottom of the fourth.

4:56 p.m.: And Sakamoto slots another K on the box score. Clutch stuff, truly.

4:52 p.m.: Sakamoto notches another strikeout, this time with the heat. However, that could have been a little more advantageous for Tennessee; Sakamoto's pitch was wild, just whizzing past Nouchi's glove. However, neither the batter nor the lead runner moved. Probably could have taken an extra base somewhere as a result.

4:50 p.m.: Some more good base-running by Rhodes results in a run for Tennessee. The Nolensville bunch recorded a swinging bunt, but Rhodes waited for Nouchi to make the throw to first before advancing home.

Hawaii's lead is cut to two. 

4:47 p.m.: Things are getting interesting for Tennessee. Payanal drops a routine pop fly in the outfield. Some heady base-running by Rhodes gets him to third base after taking second courtesy of a wild pitch.

4:44 p.m.: Jack Rhodes puts some good wood on Sakamoto's fastball. That's the first hit Sakamoto has given up this Little League World Series.

Put that ball in Cooperstown.

Third inning

4:40 p.m.: And that's another for Tennessee. We're headed to the top of the fourth.

4:38 p.m.: Watson flies out to Porter, who has swapped flanks and is standing in the left field lawn now.

4:37 p.m.: Lancaster pops up to Nash Carter at second. One away.

4:33 p.m.: Sakamoto induces another out to wrap up the inning. He's halfway through the game and hasn't given up a hit yet.

4:31 p.m.: Fourth K of the day for Sakamoto, who gets the swinging strikeout.

4:30 p.m.: McNiel makes weak contact on a Sakamoto breaking ball. And after a slight bobble, Lancaster gets him out with a throw to first.

Second inning

4:28 p.m.: And a pop-out ends the inning. 3-0 Hawaii edge after two innings.

4:27 p.m.: Keko Payanal drives in another run, this time on a smoked dribbler that split the infield. 3-0 lead for the Hawaiians early.

4:25 p.m.: That's another run for Hawaii, this time via fielder's choice! Wicked ball falls in the second baseman's trail. However, he chooses to get the out as opposed to getting the lead runner, who scores easily from third.

4:24 p.m.: McNiel is starting to feel the pressure. Throws a wild pitch that pushes the lead runner to third.

4:22 p.m.: McNiel not able to find the zone on the full-count. That's two on the pond for Tau Purcell.

4:19 p.m.: McNiel makes a nice play on the mound, tracking a loose bunt before throwing Sakamoto out at second. One on, one away for the Hawaiians.

4:17 p.m.: Sakamoto already made plays on the mound. Now he's making them on the diamond, too. The Hawaii pitcher smokes the ball off the wall for a loud single.

4:14 p.m.: A soft grounder ends the inning for Hawaii. Through 13 innings in the LLWS, Sakamoto has yet to get up a hit.

4:13 p.m.: That's another K from Sakamoto! Porter whiffs on a low breaking ball. That's two batters out in the second.

4:12 p.m.: Sakamoto gets his second K of the day, catching the batter looking with the heat.

4:10 p.m.: Wright Martin takes first base after it's ruled that catcher Kaeo Noguchi interfered with Wright's swing.

4:07 p.m.: Watson fields a slow roller at third and whips it into first for the first out of the inning.

First inning

4:04 p.m.: A pop out lands in William Santinoff's glove, ending the inning. Hawaii holds the early one-run edge.

4:02 p.m.: Hawaii is on the board! Daly Watson crushes a belt-high fastball to the left field wall, right over the head of outfielder Charlie Malom.

Lancaster was humping, going first to home while Watson slid into second base with a double.

1-0 Hawaii.

4 p.m.: Lancaster gets good wood on a ball outside the zone, pulling it into the 5.5 hole. One on, two outs for the Hawaiians.

3:57 p.m.: Hawaii smacks a pair of pitches towards the right field wall. However, Josiah Porter tracked both balls beautifully, nabbing a pair of flyouts.

Star slugger Jaron Lancaster stepping up to the mound now.

3:56 p.m.: Trent McNiel takes the mound for Tennessee. Looks like he's employing a series of different looks with his delivery.

3:52 p.m.: A lazy fly ball lands in the right fielder's glove, ending the inning. 1-2-3 start for Sakamoto.

3:51 p.m.: Sakamoto already throwing gas early. Hit 75 mph on the gun en route to a strikeout. Two outs in the inning.

3:50 p.m.: Nice jumping catch to rob Satinoff of a bloop single. One away for the Hawaiians.

3:48 p.m.: Cohen Sakamoto takes the ball for Hawaii to start the game. He'll face Tennessee leadoff hitter William Satinoff.

Little League World Series start time today

• Start time: 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV channel: ABC
• Live stream: ESPN+, fuboTV

The United States final of the LLWS will be broadcast live on ABC at 3:30 p.m. Karl Ravech will handle the play-by-play at Lamade Stadium. He'll be joined in the booth by analysts Kyle Peterson, Jessica Mendoza and Julie Foudy.

For cord-cutters, Saturday's game will also be streamed live on ESPN+, as well as fuboTV, which offers a free trial. For Spanish-speaking viewers, the game will be offered on ESPN Deportes.

Little League World Series rosters

With just two days remaining in the tournament, let's look at the players who have gotten Hawaii and Tennessee to the brink of Little League World Series glory:

Hawaii

Coaching Staff: Gerald Oda (manager), Keith Oda, Willis Kato

Tennessee

Coaching Staff: Randy Huth (manager), Evan Satinoff, Mark Carter