Hamilton West Sides big inning never comes in Little League World Series championship loss

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — On more than one occasion, it felt like the big inning that had carried Hamilton West Side Little League all the way to the brink of a United States Championship at the Little League World Series was going to come.

They were getting guys on with no outs, were frequently in the right part of the order to do it and it just felt like one big hit was going to get them back in the game after falling behind 6-1 early.

But, that big hit leading to a big inning never came. Meanwhile, Paseo Verde Little League of Henderson, Nevada put on a clinic of clutch hitting as they beat Hamilton 12-2 in five innings on Saturday, Aug. 29, to capture the Little League World Series United States Championship.

“Maybe my team needed to play yesterday. We were kind of on a roll, and then we had a day off. But they out-hit us. They put the ball in play, and they moved the ball. And the other thing I'd say is, three double plays didn't help us either. That takes a big inning out of the equation. It was set up to happen. We had the right guys up, too,†said Hamilton West Side Manager Tim Nichting.

Nevada, who has not lost all summer in their run to the United States Championship, proved why they are America's best Little League team. All twelve active players reached base safely, they pounded out 13 hits, and played stellar defense in the field, turning three backbreaking double plays on ground balls. A Hamilton team that had looked unbeatable throughout their five-game win streak at the Little League World Series simply didn't have that same spark that they'd had for the past week.

After going down 1-0 after the first inning, Hamilton tied the game in the top of the second inning. After back-to-back singles by Bob Frazier and Xander Kinkade, Walker Osborne grounded into a fielder's choice, but an errant throw on what looked to be an inning-ending double play scored Frazier. Finn Dykes singled with two outs to load the bases, but they could not put any more runs on the board.

Nevada answered with five runs of their own in the bottom of the second, highlighted by Carsynn Meyer's two-out RBI single, the first RBI hit ever for a girl in the Little League World Series Championship game that put Nevada up 4-1. One batter later, Owen Guzman's hit brought in two more to make it 6-1.

Ohio's deep pitching staff that had been effective throughout the series gave up hard contact all day, a credit to Nevada's lineup and to the fact that Ohio was pretty worn out from their five games in six days stretch that went from last Saturday to Thursday.

“Yeah, I'd go back to maybe we were just a little tired. They all pitched all week, and in my eyes, it just looked like nobody really had any zip on our fastballs. They've all been used all week. And (Leo Feltner) is an 11-year-old, and it's a good learning experience for Leo. But they hit it. Can't take that away,†Nichting said.

Still down 6-1, Hamilton's best chance of making a game of it came in the fourth inning. Bryson Williams and Feltner reached to start the inning with the tournament's leading RBI man in Josiah Infante coming up.

But, he grounded into a 6-4-3 double play for the first two outs of the inning. Jack McAdams worked a walk on a 3-2 count, Frazier hit an RBI single into center field to make it 6-2, and Xander Kinkade nearly changed the game with one swing of the bat.

Kinkade hit a 1-1 fastball deep to left field right down the line for what looked like off the bat was going to be a monumental three-run home run. But, the ball just tailed foul by a matter of feet. Kinkade drew a walk to load the bases, but a shallow liner by Osborne was caught in center field for the final out of the inning.

Hamilton cutting into the deficit didn't last long, as Nevada came right back out in the bottom of the fourth to score two more runs to make it 8-2.

And, when a leadoff walk by Dykes turned into an inning-ending double play two batters later, the sun started setting on Hamilton's terrific run.

Unfortunately, it set a little too soon, as Hamilton would not get another chance to bat. Nevada scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth and walked the game off on a base hit into left field by Maddox Bryan to invoke the ten-run rule.

Hamilton was scheduled to play Joto Little League from Tokyo, Japan in the third-place game at 10 a.m. Sunday. Japan lost to Curacao 4-0 in the International Championship Game Saturday afternoon.

“I think we'll go all at it. I really do. I think we came here to win, and I think we'll go all at it. I probably got two kids on my bench that haven't been in the field. Hopefully, I'll get them an inning or something in the field anyhow, just to say they were on the field. But, I've got (Boone) Treadway, I've got (Bryson) Williams, two nice pitchers, two of my better pitchers, really. You know, I have no clue how good Japan is, but typically, they're a bear. I think we'll go at it to try to win and keep something respectful. I don't like ten-run-rules,†Nichting said.(tncms-asset)6a7cc97a-e749-5f10-bf29-fd84ef354abd[1](/tncms-asset)