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Nevada beats Hawaii with great double play

By Chris Masse 5 min read

A closer look at the 3-2 Henderson, Nevada win over Wailuku, Hawaii, Monday at Lamade Stadium as Nevada became the first team to beat Hawaii before the U.S. Semifinals since 2010, a span covering four tournaments.

PLAY OF THE GAME -- Nevada's game-winning double play: Catcher Parker Soranaka understood the rules and helped Nevada cap a thrilling victory in dramatic fashion. With a runner on first and one out Gunner Gaudin produced a strikeout. The batter tried running to first, but Soranaka realized if first is occupied that batter is automatically out. So, he quickly threw to first baseman Oliver Johnson to try and pick the lead runner off. When the runner kept going for second, Johnson fired to shortstop Russell McGee who made the tag and clinched the dramatic victory.

NEVADA PLAYER OF THE GAME --Gunner Gaudin: The right-hander stymied a potent offense all afternoon and displayed both his talent and guts. Gaudin allowed nine hits, but repeatedly pitched out of trouble and kept going strong. He let his outstanding defense work, struck out four and stranded six runners. A pitchers' pitcher, Gaudin moved the ball well, brilliantly spotted his pitches, worked ahead and threw 58 of his 78 pitches for strikes. Gaudin also drew a walk and made some nice plays coming off the mound

HAWAII PLAYER OF THE GAME -- Cam Kaneshiro: Kaneshiro hit well, going 2 for 2 and delivered a single during Hawaii's game-tying fifth inning. He also started on the mound, stranding two runners in the second inning to keep the game, 1-0 before exciting. Kaneshiro hit the ball hard on both his singles and only a fabulous Nevada play kept him from scoring a go-ahead run in the fifth inning.

BIG INNING--Nevada sixth: After Hawaii tied the game in the fifth, Nevada immediately responded. Utilizing its trademark terrific batting approaches, the Mountain champions scored a run without a hit, drawing three walks and taking advantage of a hit batter. Gunner Beranek drew a lead-off walk, Caleb Gomez dropped a well-placed sacrifice bunt, Russell McGee walked, Wyatt Erickson was hit by a pitch and Noah Letalu drew a two-out RBI walk. The big inning continued in the bottom of the sixth when Luke Lentz made a fabulous play to produce the first out. Lentz ran into the left-center field gap, jumped and caught a Matthew Lang smash of a line drive with the top landing near the top of his glove.

BEST EFFORT--Nevada's defense: Time after time, Nevada's stout defense came up with clutch plays at crucial times. So are mentioned in the next section and the game-inning double play as well as Lentz's sixth inning gem highlight the defensive clinic. Don't forget about Beranek at second base, though, either. Beranek made a monster play that changed the game to close the fifth inning. He was in the right place at the right time, backing up the first baseman on a hard grounder which bounced toward the hole. Beranek stopped the ball but still had a good distance to reach first base. Unfazed, he sprinted and beat Kolten Magno by about a step to prevent Hawaii from scoring the go-ahead run. Had he not made such a great play, Hawaii would have had the lead and may have won the game.

FLASHING LEATHER--Hawaii showed off its defensive skills early, producing nice plays for the game's first two outs. First, left fielder Gauge Pacheco made a hustling catch, covering a lot of ground and hauling in Caleb Gomez's flyball in shallow territory. Next, second baseman Kolten Magno jumped into the air and made a super leaping catch, taking a single from Russell McGee. That play saved a run with Wyatt Erickson doubling a batter later. Pacheco showed off his speed in the first inning and his arm the next. On a Luke Lentz RBI single, Pacheco threw a laser which took no hops and hit catcher Matthew Yang chest high allowing him to make a quick high and limit the damage on the go-ahead hit. Hawaii kept the super glove work going in the third inning when pitcher Cam Kaneshiro made a nice stop on a hard-hit Gunner Beranek grounder and made a quick throw to shortstop Kanon Nakama who made a rapid turn and fired to first baseman Hayden Takahashi, completing a double play. Just a batter later, Magno made a phenomenal play and robbed Caleb Gomez of a single. Magno dove to his left, extending his body as far as it could go to make the stop before leaping up and making a good throw to beat the speedy runner by a step for the third out. Like a broken record, Hawaii kept showing off its amazing defensive capabilities in the fourth inning. With a runner on first, Takahashi ran far down the right-field line and made a brilliant over the shoulder catch, giving Hawaii the inning's first out. Nevada pitcher Gunner Gaudin made a nice play in the fifth inning when he bare-handed a well-placed bunt and fired to first baseman Oliver Johnson to beat Eassie Miller to the bag.

WHAT THE ADULTS SAY--"He's a warrior, he does everything you need," Nevada manager Adam Johnson said of Gaudin. "Gunnar knows when you get a two-strike situation with runners on base, he can attack a runner with a breaking pitch."

WHAT THE KIDS SAY--"I came in the game, I was feeling good and I was ready to pitch," Gaudin said. "They gave me the ball so I was really, really excited to see what I could do and I felt like I executed. We had a good outcome."

WHAT IT MEANS-- Nevada improves to 2-0 at the Series and is a win from reaching the national championship. The Mountain champions will play Monday night's Florida-Texas winner Wednesday in the winner's bracket final. Hawaii remains alive and has a quick turnaround. It faces Pennsylvania in an elimination game Tuesday afternoon.

Starting at /week.