West Maui Little League Baseball is led by Anna and Jason Kanaha.

LAHAINA – Play ball! The springtime signal for baseball to begin will ring out this Saturday, April 4, as the first official pitch of the 2015 West Maui Little League Baseball season will be offered up in the annual Opening Day ceremonies at the Lahaina Recreation Center Field beginning at 11:30 a.m.

According to WMLLB President Anna Kanaha, the events will start with team photos of all 16 teams, followed by games in each of the T-Ball (ages 5-6), Rookie/Coach Pitch (7-8), Minors (9-10) and Majors (11-12) divisions. A parade of teams and the official ceremony will take place at 3 p.m., and a concession stand will be provided by Kool Kat Burgers all day long.

Anna will be joined by vice president and husband Jason Kanaha, Player Agent Don “Da Commish” Rosenthal, Secretary Kim Zeigler, and Board Members Vernon Kanaha, Charlie McCabe, Wailani Kahahane, Lani Chadli, John Kim and Elsa Kim on the leadership organization for WMLLB this year.

Coaches for the 2015 season include Leon Gomes, James Vierra and Uncle Buff Nakoa for the T-Ball Division; Chris Salem, John Kim, Emmet Markulis, Michael Medina and Butchie Smith for the Rookie league; Bryant Sanders, Ryan Toshikiyo, Vernon Kanaha and Karyn Murphy in the Minors Division; and Danton Hong, Jason Kanaha and Charlie McCabe for the Majors teams.

The regular season will run through mid-June, at which time all-star rosters will be named to participate in the District III All-Star Tournament at the end of June and beginning of July. The winners of the district playoffs will advance to the state, regional and then to the dreamscape of the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pennsylvania in August.

League President Anna reported last week that all systems are go, with some 200 kids participating in the four divisions of the league.

“Everything is going smoothly so far, and we’re looking forward to some fun times this season. I am happy that the board has been working well together, and things are running smoothly from their efforts. We’ve added interleague games with Upcountry Little League this year, and that has been a blessing for everybody to meet new people and play games with different teams. We’re also making arrangements for the Winter League season that runs from the end of October and into December. We hope to have teams in all divisions and to play interleague games with Upcountry and Kihei Little Leagues.”

“We send our heartfelt mahalo to all the coaches, the families and our sponsors, including Paradise Grill, Jim Falk Motors of Maui, Warren & Annabelle’s Magic, Expeditions, Maui Sod, UFO Parasail, Maui Jim, Browning Ohana, Jolie Boutique, JBR Construction, Slappy Cakes, Lahaina Fire Station, Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club and Kaanapali Beach Hotel,” she concluded.