SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Move aside Pearl City. You have company.

The West O'ahu Little League from 'Ewa Beach scored four fourth-inning runs, survived a fifth-inning scare and captured its first U.S. championship with a 6-1 victory yesterday over Rancho Buena Vista, Calif., at Lamade Stadium.

A crowd of 20,794 saw West O'ahu become the second team from Hawai'i to reach the world championship for 11- and 12-year-olds, and the first since Pearl City lost in the 1988 title game.

That's not bad for a team that manager Layton Aliviado thought would never reach the national championship game.

"It's a dream come true," Aliviado said. "We just had a dream to make it to San Bernardino (for the Northwest Regional). To be U.S. champions ... it's hard to explain. I'm happy."

West O'ahu will try to win the world championship at 3:30 p.m. today (9:30 a.m. Hawai'i time on ABC) when it meets International champion Curacao, which beat Japan, 2-0, yesterday.

West O'ahu enters today's game riding a 17-game winning streak. It has outscored its five Little League World Series opponents, 32-5.

"I have faith in the boys," Aliviado said. "The man upstairs blessed us. The boys have talent and it shows. They are awesome players and good athletes."

Ironically, the powerful offense that sparked West O'ahu's run to yesterday's game struggled for a second straight game.

West O'ahu managed just two hits, but talk about making them count.

Sheyne Baniaga hit an RBI single in the fourth inning, putting West O'ahu ahead to stay 1-0, and Vonn Fe'ao crushed a towering two-run home run in the fifth. Fe'ao's homer made it 6-1.

West O'ahu has three hits in its last two games and they have resulted in five runs.

California starting pitcher Nathan Lewis had a no-hitter for three innings but tired in the fourth when West O'ahu scored four runs to break open a scoreless game. An error and a walk set the stage for Baniaga, who hit a grounder through the hole between shortstop and third base, scoring Kini Enos with the first run.

California manager Marty Miller lifted Lewis after Baniaga's single, but Reed Reznicek fared no better, walking in two runs while another scored on an error.

"If we don't make the mistakes we made on defense and the walks ... it's a lot closer ball game," Miller said. "They had two hits and six runs. That doesn't say a lot for the way we played the game."

California lost for the first time in 25 games as Alaka'i Aglipay, Fe'ao and Quentin Guevara combined to two-hit the West Regional champions. Aglipay earned his second win of the tournament, allowing two hits while striking out six and walking five in 4 1/3 innings.

"Throw strikes, that's what I wanted to do," Aglipay said. "In regionals I pitched a better game against Idaho."

Aglipay's streak of 12 straight scoreless innings ended in the fourth inning when Daniel Gibney ripped a lead-off triple down the right-field line and scored on a wild pitch.

The way things were going for West O'ahu in the fifth inning, however, it seemed Aglipay would be surrendering more than one run.

Aglipay struck out Aaron Kim before walking Josh Gomez and Austin White. After running a 2-0 count to Lewis, Aglipay was relieved by Fe'ao, who then hit Lewis on the left shoulder to load the bases. That brought up catcher Kalen Pimentel, who already had hit two grand slams and driven in nine runs in his first four tournament games.

Fe'ao stayed calm under pressure and coaxed Pimentel into popping out to shortstop Enos. Surprisingly, pinch runner Dylan Demeyer ran too far off second base and Enos threw to second to complete an inning-ending double play.

"It was a relief," Fe'ao said.

And it was demoralizing for California.

Instead of pulling closer, California missed its best chance to do damage against a team that has never trailed in five tournament games.

West O'ahu then put itself out of reach in the bottom of the fifth. Baniaga walked with one out, and took second on a passed ball. Michael Memea grounded out, with Baniaga holding at second. Fe'ao then unloaded on Reznicek, sending a towering drive well beyond the left-center field fence.

Reznicek drew a one-out walk against Guevara in the sixth inning, but California was not able to mount another rally as Gibney grounded out to second baseman Baniaga for the final out.

"We don't show it too much, but we're happy," Aliviado said.