Monday’s win for Nevada was about pitching, guts
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Summerlin South Little League all-stars proved they could win nearly every way, while reaching the Little League World Series. Specifically, they repeatedly showed they could mash their way to victory.
That fact was driven home when they erased an early eight-run deficit and routed Utah, collecting 24 hits and winning, 22-12 in five innings.
The only way the team from Las Vegas, Nevada had not won was through a pitcher's duel. Until Monday that is.
There, the Mountain champions checked off its final path to victory. Despite Joe Giulietti throwing six no-hit innings, Garrett Gallegos and Luke D'Ambrosio proved equally dominant. Jayden Lee then hit a two-out, seventh inning single and Cutter Ricafort belted a walk-off single, sending Las Vegas to Wednesday's winner's bracket final with a 1-0 victory.
So many Las Vegas wins this summer have been about talent and power. This one was about pitching and guts.
"A pitcher's duel, that's baseball at its best. A 1-0 game in extras, it doesn't get better than that," Las Vegas manager TJ Fechser said. "I'm proud of the guys for how they kept their composure. It's no different than coming back from a big deficit. It's the same mindset: Pitch by pitch, strike by strike, play by play and the guys came through."
Las Vegas has done that all summer, a major reason it was playing for a spot in the U.S. Championship, Wednesday. The Mountain champions entered that game undefeated and showed Monday that even when the bats are quiet, they remain mighty dangerous. Before the bats heated up in the seventh inning, it was Gallegos and D'Ambrosio who could not be touched ... or fazed.
Gallegos has yet to allow a run in 10 2/3 innings at the Series and matched Giulietti pitch for pitch. He worked around traffic in every inning, matching his velocity and movement with moxie and guile. Gallegos also struck out 12, the most batters he fanned in a game since districts.
"I started the game feeling like I was going to have a great day because I was feeling amazing today. So, when I was warming up, I just thought to myself there's no way I'm going to give up any runs today because my arm just feels too good," Gallegos said. "It was like a pitchers' duel and it felt super cool to be in that close of a game and have that much tension put on me. I love tension. I was really locked in."
So was D'Ambrosio. Instead of entering a scoreless duel feeling the pressure, the right-hander also enjoyed the moment. And owned it as well.
D'Ambrosio struck out four of the six batters he faced and gave his team a shot to win the game in the seventh inning. A team which always could rely on its offense this season, did not flinch. It turned up the pitching, turned up the defense and kept believing it would find a way.
In the seventh inning, it finally did.
"We just couldn't get the clutch hit at the right time. Kudos to their pitchers," South Carolina manager Dave Bogan said. "They threw good pitches when they needed to. That was the biggest issue."
"We made the plays. We didn't break when we were in tight situations," Fechser said. "We matched strikeout for strikeout."
Extra innings begin with a runner on second and no outs. D'Ambrosio produced consecutive strikeouts to leave the go-ahead runner on third in the top half. After South Carolina shortstop Preston Ware made a fabulous play to cut down the lead runner for the second out, Las Vegas again kept grinding.
Lee delivered that elusive hit, moving Griffin Vargas to second base. Then, in an at-bat which shined a light on Las Vegas's resilience, Ricafort produced one of the best at-bats in league history.
After falling behind 1-2, Ricafort fouled off the next two pitches. He then stuck with a pitch on the outside corner and laced it into right field. Vargas sprinted home and Las Vegas was winner's bracket final-bound.
"I really didn't feel much. I didn't hear any fans," Ricafort said. "It was just me and the pitcher. That's how locked in I was."
It was a mature answer from a mature player on a mature team. This game proved what the coaches and Summerlin South parents and fans have known for a long time. This is a team every bit as tough as it is talented.
So many times, Las Vegas could have buckled. The pitchers had no margin for error, nor did the defense. It was unlike any game this team had played this summer. The common denominator, though, was Las Vegas's demeanor and approach.
The games transpire in all sorts of ways, but Las Vegas attacks them all the same, regardless of situation.
"You stay in the game until the end. We don't play against time, we play against competition," Fechser said. "For them to hang in their pitch by pitch and maintain focus creates confidence."
Las Vegas now, really, has won in just about every way imaginable this summer. So, it's not so much the winning which defines this group.
It simply is the fact that Summerlin South's players are winners.