Pearl City is hoping its return to the Little League Senior Division World Series will be a triumphant one.

The 14- to 16-year-olds from Hawai'i won the Western Regional in Salem, Ore. yesterday — defeating Scottsdale, Ariz., 2-0, behind the three-hit pitching of Bryson Nakamura.

Pearl City, which went 6-0 in the regional, opens World Series play Sunday in Bangor, Maine, against Makati City of the Philippines.

"We went to the World Series last year and came in runner-up," Pearl City coach Gary Nakamoto said. "I thought we had a good chance (to make it back) this year. This team has a lot of experience."

Eight players returned from last year's team that lost to Urbandale, Iowa, 7-2, in the title game. And five players moved up from the Pearl City team that lost to East Lake, Fla., 7-6, in the U.S. final of the Junior Division (ages 13-14) World Series in Taylor, Mich.

Among the newcomers is Nakamura, who handcuffed Scottsdale with his curve and fastball. He struck out three and did not issue a walk.

"My control was good today, and my catcher (Carlton Tanabe) was framing (the pitches) really good," Nakamura said. "I told myself to make sure I got strikes with all my pitches since I knew I had a good D behind me."

Nakamoto said Nakamura "did what we thought he would do. He used his offspeed pitches to keep them off-balance. We knew if he could do that they would have a hard time hitting him (because) Arizona likes the fastball."

Nakamura got in trouble only once when Scottsdale loaded the bases with two outs in the third and brought its No. 4 batter to the plate in a scoreless game.

Nakamoto said he didn't consider lifting Nakamura in that situation because "they weren't hitting him hard (so) I left him in there."

With the count full, and the runners moving on the pitch, Nakamura got the batter to ground to short for a force at second.

"That was big," Nakamura said. "That gave me a lot of confidence."

Said Nakamoto: "That was a rally-killer for them, especially since we scored in that inning."

Kurt Poentis led off the bottom of the third with a single and Rory Nakayama reached on a bunt single. Ryno Acosta's sacrifice bunt moved the runners up, and Poentis raced home on a passed ball that evaded the catcher by only 5 or 6 feet.

Pearl City made it 2-0 in the fifth. Nakayama doubled, took third on a fielder's choice and scored on Acosta's sacrifice fly.

Nakamoto said the team will stay in Oregon a few more days — flying out Friday to Maine.

"We got most of the parents here helping us out," he said. "They've been a big help."

ARIZONA 000 000 0—0 3 1

PEARL CITY 001 010 X—2 4 0

Bryson Nakamura and Carlton Tanabe.

Leading hitters—Rory Nakayama 2-3, run; Ryno Acosta RBI; Kurt Poentis 1-1, run; Jon Abreu 1-1.