What Evan Tavares has done this summer really makes no sense.

How does someone go through rugged Hawaii and West Regional fields and the Little League World Series without allowing an earned run? It’s not like the 12-year-old is pitching spot relief either.

Tavares has started all summer and extended his remarkable streak to 41 1/3 innings. What the left-hander has done is kind of mind-bending considering the competition Wailuku, Hawaii has played but watch him throw and one starts learning how he has turned on the odds on the dealers.

“Evan is awesome. As a lefty what’s hard when you’re young is that it looks like a ball until it’s a strike,” Pennsylvania manager Brad Hamilton said after Tavares threw 5 2/3 brilliant innings of three-hit baseball in Hawaii’s 3-1 win Tuesday afternoon. “He does a wonderful job at a young age of playing the corners and not really ever giving you a chance a barrel strike to hit which is awesome at 12. We knew what we were looking for but that doesn’t make it any easier.”

Hamilton’s answer says a lot. Teams can prepare for Tavares. They can face left-handed pitchers at practices, they can know what’s coming and they can have a good plan of attack.

But when throws the way Tavares does all the preparation in the world can feel insignificant. Mixing a fastball that hovers in the low to mid-70s with nasty off-speed pitches, Tavares can be a hitter’s nightmare. As many great teams as Hawaii has played none has been able to solve the puzzle that is Tavares.

“He is such a talented pitcher,” Illinois manager Chad Wanless said after Tavares threw 5 1/3 shutout innings against his team with nine strikeouts in a 5-0 win. “You have to play nearly flawless baseball to beat someone like that.”

Tavares is the one who has pretty much been flawless this summer. In addition to not allowing an earned run in 41 1/3 innings, Tavares also has surrendered just 15 hits, five walks and struck out 102. After dominating at the West Regional where he struck out 26 and allowed two hits in two complete games, Tavares has kept mowing through formidable teams at the Series. He is 3-0, starting each Hawaii victory and scattering five hits in 13 1/3 innings. Tavares also has struck out 28.

It is a team effort and Hawaii has a deep staff. Many pitchers have helped Hawaii become one of the country’s top four teams. Still, even manager Daniel Bolduc understands how rare a pitcher like Tavares is.

“We have a lot of pitchers on our team,” Bolduc said following the Illinois win. “We only got one of this guy.”

Illinois did its best to dent the aura of invincibility encircling Tavares when it loaded the bases in the first inning last Friday. All that did was make Tavares angry.

And an angry Tavares may be the most dangerous Tavares. He surrendered just one base

runner the rest of the way and struck out nine.

“I got pretty mad in that moment so that’s when I started throwing harder,” Tavares said. “When I get mad I usually throw harder and throw strikes. So that’s pretty much me locking in.”

Against Illinois, Tavares has revealed that not just his talent, but his poise. The Mid-Atlantic champions put two runners on base in the first inning Monday. Again, Tavares did not crack.

Instead of growing frustrated, Tavares grew more determined both times and ended the threats with strikeouts. From there, he grew stronger both times. Against Pennsylvania, Tavares retired nine straight batters from the second through fourth innings and struck out six straight at one point.

“After the first inning I felt way more comfortable,” Tavares said Monday. “I was throwing more strikes.”

Tavares said his madness level on a scale of 1-10 was a seven against Pennsylvania. And that meant a powerful Mid-Atlantic champion offense was in trouble. California, a team which overpowered most of its opponents this summer, felt the same frustration in the West final when Tavares struck out 12 and helped Hawaii win the championship, 2-1.

These are the games and moments Tavares has worked for since he first started playing baseball. His ability to shine when millions nationwide are watching is because he does so much work.

The only thing Tavares might have to work on now is completing his thoughts. He seems to have the pitching thing mastered, but Buldoc served as a valuable reliever when Tavares could not finish his sentence.

“I like being in moments like that because it …” Tavares said.

“It fuels his fire,” Bolduc finished. “The bigger the moment the better he pitches.”

And few Little League pitchers throw the way Tavares does.