The two older Little League teams are from Pearl City.

Gerald Oda, field manager of the select O'ahu All-Stars in the Cal Ripken World Series, echoed Nakamura's comments: "What all Hawai'i teams have always had in common is sportsmanship, the way our kids behave. ... And Hawai'i people are friendly; we always bring gifts to exchange."

The "omiyage" Hawai'i teams give out to opposing players, coaches and tournament officials is often much more elaborate than they receive.

Coach Eric Kadooka's Babe Ruth team gave out gift bags at a regional tournament that included puka shell necklaces and macadamia nut candies to players, and chocolates and Kona coffee to adults. Families who hosted the players were given a koa-framed Hawai'i scenic photo, T-shirts and pineapples.

Parents made new gift bags when the team advanced to the World Series. The host families in Louisiana were given a lauhala basket of goodies, a monkeypod bowl, pineapples and fresh flowers from Hawai'i.

"I've had fresh pineapple before but never from Hawai'i. It's so sweet," said Lisa Gautreaux, who together with her husband, Chris, is hosting Punahou sophomores Matthew Suiter and Joshua Bninski at their home in Maurice. "They haven't taught us any Hawaiian words yet."

Most of the O'ahu teams have been on the road for more than a week, resulting in some interesting food experiences.

"We took the kids to a Chinese buffet and they flipped out when they saw mash potatoes, sushi and pizza," said Wallyne Nakamura, one of the parents on the trip to Michigan.

In Louisiana, the Babe Ruth team has taken a liking to Cajun cooking.

Team mother Mary Suiter, who has been on the road since July 25 following different tournaments involving her two sons, said boudin (sausage made with rice and either ground pork, beef or chicken) and crawfish etouffee (a stew served over rice) have been popular with the boys, who were exposed to a potluck of Cajun dishes at a recent cookout.

"I'm happy to say that they've eaten just about everything we've put in front of them," said Chris Gautreaux, who plans to take the two players staying with him to Evangeline Downs for horse racing this week.

Mary Suiter said the home-stay experience and summer baseball traveling is costly but worth it.

"You can't put a price tag on anything we've experienced," she said. "Abbeville is a town of 15,000 people and everyone is amazingly friendly.

"There's a little restaurant here, Shucks Oyster Bar, where they've put up a Hawai'i sign in the window and painted the names of our kids on it."

While on the road, coaches have been making sure their players who are missing school time are keeping up.

In Maine, coach Gary Nakamoto has two-hour study halls for his players, 12 of whom attend Pearl City High School while one attends Saint Louis and another goes to Kamehameha.

"A lot of time they ask me questions but I'm not a schoolteacher so I can't answer them," Nakamoto said, laughing.

Nainoa Tampos, 15, who attends Saint Louis, has decided it's too late to try out for football.

"I miss rice, I miss home but the baseball is great," said Tampos, who plays for Pearl City's 15-16 team. "We collect pins from all over. Like the Latin players don't speak English and we don't speak Spanish, but somehow we're able to talk about baseball with gestures."

Hawai'i teams traditionally are competitive in the tournaments in ages 16 and under. Young pitchers in Hawai'i are taught early to change speeds and position players concentrate on becoming good bunters and base runners and to play defense.

"Mainland kids play smash ball as compared to our small ball," Nakamoto said. "Our kids can sit on a fastball. But eventually, the Mainland kids grow into their bodies and become bigger and stronger."

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.