Nevada poses challenges throughout its lineup for teams
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Obviously, not every Henderson, Nevada player delivers a hit and/or reaches base every time he bats. But when they are retired, they make sure the pitcher earns it.
Henderson may not overwhelm opponents with its power, but every hitter represents a significant challenge. That is a major reason the Mountain Region champions are one of the country’s three best Little League teams. Henderson competed in the winner’s bracket final Wednesday night at the Little League World Series and entering that game every player had either reached base and/or produced an RBI during the first two Series wins.
"One thing we preach is every kid has an approach when he goes up," Nevada manager Adam Johnson said after a 9-1 opening round win against New York. "They’re all comfortable, they’re all confident. No one is looking to do too much at the plate which is a big advantage for us.
"We try and limit over aggressive swings, especially in big situations. We’re big believers in get them on, get them over, get them in."
Henderson has done that effectively all summer. Each player has made himself a difficult out. Rarely swinging at bad pitches, Henderson hitters make the pitcher come at them. They are swinging at pitches they want, not ones the pitcher wants them to.
That’s Hitting 101. And it helped Henderson win six straight games, including four elimination contests, between regionals and the Series. At regionals, Henderson produced a .442 on-base percentage and through two games at the Series it was a eye-popping .459 entering the winner’s bracket final.
"We preach the approach of the game. The process can be correct and you can line out. But one thing we preach is if your process is right you’re going to have success more times than not, so at the end of the day the kids understand," Johnson said. "They’re comfortable hitting behind in counts and know that all they have to do is get the next guy up."
So ingrained is that message into the players that they sound like their coaches when discussing successful at-bats. First baseman Noah Letalu sure did when he hit a key RBI single which helped Henderson break open the game against New York.
"I was thinking just keep going through the lineup . Coach talks a lot about get the next guy on." Letalu said. "I was thinking I just need to drive in this run to get the next guy on."
Henderson did not smash the ball all over the field in a 3-2 win against Hawaii last Monday. It collected five hits, but its patient, disciplined approaches led to Henderson drawing six walks. Each one was important, too, with the winning run coming in the sixth inning.
Henderson did have a hit that inning, but three batters worked walks and Wyatt Erickson fouled off two, two-strike pitches before being hit. That loaded the bases and a batter later, Letalu watched four pitches just miss outside as he drove in the winning run with a walk.
One bad swing in any of those situations and the game might have remained tied. Even without getting a hit, Henderson showed in that go-ahead rally why it has been so successful offensively this summer.
"I knew we had to get the bases loaded there because if we got the bases loaded, and a walk, we were getting a run and (pitcher) Gunnar can shut them down," Erickson said. "I knew I had to not get out of the way. At that point, Noah would have been on with bases loaded if I didn't take that."
Like his teammates, Erickson was not thinking about swinging for the fences or being a hero. He was simply thinking about the game, the situation and his team. Letalu mirrored that approach a batter later, bringing in the decisive run before Gaudin capped his brilliant complete game pitching performance and sealed the victory minutes later.
Sure, hitting a grand slam would have been cool, but these players are not about going for highlights. They are about doing what it takes to win and they do that a whole lot.
"I was just thinking to myself I can't be a selfish hitter at this point. I can't be going into the play trying to hit a grand slam and put the entire team on my back," Letalu said. "Just like coach said, if I went up to the plate with that mindset, I'd have been swinging at balls in the dirt. But I knew that I'd have to score a run for my team and in that situation, a walk was just as important as a hit."
That is music to the coaching staff’s ears. They can talk all day but they are just words unless the players put them into action. Ultimately, that is what the coaches like most about this team.
They are like sponges, always listening and always looking to improve. At a young age, they have learned the value of putting We over Me. Doing so has made it one of the country’s best teams and kept it in the hunt for reaching the summit.
However this journey ends, what a climb it has been.
"The coolest part as a coach is to see them embrace the team mentality because I feel that we wouldn't be here if we had selfish players," Johnson said. "The families that we have are nothing but supportive, everything's been outstanding. At one point they'll understand it, but for now we just want them to enjoy it because they earned every bit of this practicing and competing, wanting to be here and it is a goal for them."