CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

People gathered Sunday at Big City Diner in Kaimuki to watch the Little League World Series championship game.

The Big City Diner in Kaimuki drew a bigger crowd than usual Sunday, and louder too, hooting whenever the Honolulu Little Leaguers scored a run in the World Series championship game. The boys kept the game short, driving home 13 runs and corking Curacao with the 10-run mercy rule in four innings.

Early on, the diner crowd was quieter, caffeine- deprived, and Curacao, representing the Caribbean, was up by one run. One couple shuffled in to sit at the bar, drink coffee, and watch the game. A few families were seated with their children, eyes flicking up to the television screens when the Honolulu boys, representing the West Region, got up to bat.

Honolulu boy Kekoa Paya­nal took the plate under the 80-degree afternoon sun in Williamsport, Pa., and a ping from the aluminum bat rang out. Back in Kaimuki, the clatter of silverware halted. The Big City Diner customers, now numbering in the 30s, cocked their heads to the TVs as the ball floated high toward left field. Then there was tired-eyed applause and hooting as the ball plunked to a stop behind the fence — home run.

Soon after, another boy reached first just barely. “Yeah!” said a man in a Hawaii Warriors hat containing his curly gray hair. Clapping briefly bubbled up.

A viewer’s opinion was in order. C. Mike Kido, a former legislative adviser to former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, sat alone in front of a plate with some rice left over. “I’m not an avid baseball fan, but they’re exciting to watch,” said Kido, now in his 70s. “I’ve been impressed by the power of their hitting and their fielding, and just their enthusiasm for the sport.” Kido, who works in government affairs at a law firm downtown, added, “This is the most I’ve ever talked to a reporter.”

In the bottom of the third inning, Hawaii was leading 5-1. “He was safe,” two men exclaimed, one after the other, after a Honolulu boy slid into second base. “He’s safe every day of the week,” said one of them. After a challenge on the field, it was called an out.

Despite his small stature, the man with the graying hair and the Hawaii hat continued to lead the diner in cheers. Hawaii was up 6-1. “I came here yesterday morning and they won, so I said I gotta come back for the championship,” he said, declining to give his name because he wanted to keep a “low profile.” He reflected on the two teams, “They’re two islands, Hawaii and Curacao. That’s really incredible! The island boys!”

By the bottom of the third inning, whispers of a runaway game could be heard throughout the diner. The Honolulu boys were leading 12-1. A team wins if it has a 10-run lead after four innings, according to Little League rules. In the whole series, the team scored 60 runs to its opponents’ five, winning four of six games by the mercy rule.

At the top of the fourth inning, though, Curacao started pushing back. The boys, from the little island north of Venezuela, put up two runs, leaving them behind by nine runs, 12-3. That prolonged the game until the bottom of the fourth inning with Honolulu needing one run to seal the deal with a 10-run lead.

“Not every day we see a Hawaii team on TV, so I didn’t want to miss it,” said J.R. Bossy, 31, who had brought his girlfriend and two children to watch the game. “I woke up early to come watch them.”

Bossy grew up playing Little League on Guam, and he hoped his kids would too when they got old enough.

“It’s almost over. I think they have it in the bag. Bottom of the fourth,” he said.

Then it happened: Kama Angell drove a single into left field that brought home pinch runner Ruston Hi­yoto, clinching the 10-run lead. “Game over!” Bossy said, his eyes on the screen at the back.

“They deserve a parade,” Kido said, watching the screen at the front. “They’re world champions.”

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