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SPORTS Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER September 2, 2019 Asians in American sports w Asian Americans in world sports Hawai‘i, Japan unexpectedly battle for third place at Little League World Series Continued from page one They then faced the Chung Nam Little League team from South Chungcheong, South Korea, who scored the first run against Japan with a leadoff homer. But Japan didn’t trail for long, scoring two in the bottom of the first. Another solo homer for Chung Nam kept the score tied until Japan’s bats finally woke up. Japan scored five runs in the next three innings, taking advantage of five walks, to win with a 7-2 score. In the game deciding the winner of the international side of the bracket, Japan again found itself in an early hole when Curaçao scored in the top of the first and then added two more in the third inning. Japan narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the bottom of the third, but Curaçao struck back in the fifth, increasing its lead to 5-2. That’s where the score sat when Japan came up in the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back doubles put two runners on, and a walk loaded the bases. Then a wild pitch plated two runs and put the tying run on third. Second baseman Ryohei Ushikubo came to the plate and stroked a hard liner to left center, but Curaçao’s left fielder, Keven Rosina, ran down the game’s final out, and his team edged Japan, 5-4. The Central East Maui Little League squad from Wailuku, Hawai‘i, had a rougher ride to the tournament, winning most of its regional games with victorious, but not dominant, one-run and two-run margins. Their first tournament game in South Williamsport was another close one, against the Southwest team from River Ridge, Louisiana, who would eventually win the tournament. Hawai‘i plated four runs in the first inning to take an early 4-1 lead. Louisiana scored once in the fifth to narrow the lead, and Hawai‘i replied with a tally of their own in the bottom half. Louisiana loaded the bases in the sixth with two outs, but pitcher Jaren Pascual induced a lineout for the game’s final out, and Hawai‘i escaped with a 5-2 victory. Hawai‘i had an easier time in its second game, shutting out Elizabethtown, New Jersey, on four hits for a 6-0 rout. In the third game, Hawai‘i struggled against the team from South Riding, Virginia. Hawai‘i grabbed an early lead with a five-run first, then promptly surrendered two runs in the bottom of the inning. Another run in the second and two in the third gave Hawai‘i a more comfortable 8-2 lead. But in their half of the third, Virginia scored six runs to tie the game. Hawai‘i recaptured the lead in the fourth, pulling further ahead with a three-run fifth. Virginia scored another run with two outs in the sixth, but Hawai‘i again escaped with a 12-9 win. Big innings also haunted Hawai‘i against the Louisiana team, in the final game of the U.S. side of the tournament bracket. The two squads were scoreless through the first four frames, but luck ran out for Hawai‘i in the fifth inning, when Logan Kuloloia gave up three runs. Then reliever Isaac Imamura had some bad luck of his own, surrendering two more runs on wild pitches before closing out the inning. Women, late-in-life new authors expand Japanese literature Continued from page 3 Become an online reader! Visit <www.asianreporter.com> and click on the “Online Paper (PDF)” link to download our last two issues. seems to be a great thirst for fiction by Japanese women writers,” Karashima said. And there’s evidence of a demand in Japan for stories that look different from those mostly produced by men in the past. The latest Akutagawa and Naoki winners are bestsellers this summer. A recent issue of Bungei literary magazine on “South Korea, Feminism, and Japan” required two reprints, a first in more than 80 years. Erika Tsugawa, a U.S.-based translator who runs the blog Tsundoku Reader, said she has also noticed a wave of new writers entering the field in middle age or after unrelated careers. She recalled a computer programmer who “used anger to fuel her novel writing” about the injustice she received while raising her two children. Another writer, Chisako Wakatake, 63, won the Akutagawa in 2017 for I’ll Live by Myself, a story about a 74-year-old widow adjusting to life alone. She began writing full time at age 55. Fans hope that the popularity of new voices will lead to appreciation of diversity in expression and identity in a society that’s often stereotyped, even within Japan, as a monolith. Tsugawa said that publishers haven’t helped by favoring for translation “very ethereal and very quirky” novels associated with the style of Murakami. “It was a revelation when I could read Japanese novels and there was all this stuff out there,” Tsugawa said. “There’s freshness there that doesn’t make the bestselling list.” The Asian Reporter is published on the first & third Monday each month. News page advertising deadlines for our next two issues are: September 16 to October 6, 2019 edition: Space reservations due: Wednesday, September 11 at 1:00pm Artwork due: Thursday, September 12 at 1:00pm October 7 to 20, 2019 edition: Space reservations due: Wednesday, October 2 at 1:00pm Artwork due: Thursday, October 3 at 1:00pm For more information, please contact our advertising department at (503) 283-4440. UNEXPECTED ENDING. Yuto Misaki (#18) of Japan slides into third base while Minwook Park (#2) of South Korea catches the ball during the Little League World Series held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In the bottom photo, Kazuhiro Kishikawa (#1) of Japan fields a wide throw as Jaren Pascual (#18) of Wailuku, Hawai‘i runs to second base. Japan earned third place in the summer baseball tournament. (AP Photos/Tom E. Puskar) After Hawai‘i threatened but failed to score in the bottom of the fifth, Imamura had a chance to hold Louisiana scoreless in the top of the sixth, but with the bases loaded and two outs, he gave up four runs before retiring the side. Down nine runs in the bottom of the sixth, Hawai‘i tried hard to claw their way back. They scored four runs, then loaded the bases with one out for cleanup hitter Nakea Kahalehau, who already had two hits on the afternoon. Kahalehau worked the count full, then drove a ball right up the middle. But shortstop Stan Wiltz caught the liner off his shoetops and raced to beat Bransyn Hong back to second base, a game-ending double play that ended Hawai‘i’s championship dreams. Unlike the matches determining the winners of the international and U.S. brackets, the third-place game between Hawai‘i and Japan proceeded more predictably. Japan jumped on Hawai‘i early, scoring three runs in the first. Hawai‘i mustered little offense until the fourth, which began with two singles, but Yuto Misaki ended the threat with two strikeouts and a fielder’s choice. Japan added another run in the fifth, and then Hawai‘i loaded the bases to start the sixth, bringing the tying run on deck. Yuto Kakeba relieved Misaki and sealed the shutout with a double play and a strikeout. The two Yutos led their team again, this time to a 5-0 third-place win. Asian-American sports fans were disappointed at the lack of eastern representation at the Little League World Series finals, but expecting an Asian team to be there says volumes about the dominance of Asian and Asian-American teams in this venue. Wait ‘til next year, the saying goes, when we’ll certainly see a return to form by teams from the east. Trump’s fake accent angers Asian Americans as they veer left Continued from page 7 hitting a record low under the leadership of President Trump.” A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump supporters like Farhana Shah of the Arizona GOP Asian American Coalition, however, say his personality is irrelevant. She praised Trump for creating jobs, passing a tax cut, and keeping the country safe. Shah, who emigrated from Bangladesh in 2006 and is self-conscious at times about her own accent, also disagrees that his reported words were racist or done out of cruelty. “He has a humorous attitude. He has a funny way of expressing things,” Shah said. “Did he harm any political negotiations? Did the leaders (themselves) react to that? If not, then it didn’t do any big harm. So why should I get offended?” Shah has gotten into debates with those who question her support for Trump. “President Trump might not speak very posh, but he is trying to resolve these problems,” Shah said. Associated Press Polling Editor Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report. Tang reported from Phoenix and is a member of The AP’s race and ethnicity team.