Little Henderson continues to achieve big things
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Their physical stature does not overwhelm opponents.
But this is not basketball. Size is insignificant. So, little Henderson, Nevada continues achieving big things.
Henderson, from Paseo Verde Little League, won its first two Little League World Series games and entered Wednesday's U.S. winner's bracket final undefeated this summer. They are not the tallest players; not the most muscular but they are one of the world's top six teams and continue fighting to climb even higher.
"On paper, when people look at us, people kind of think we're small, but I love the style of baseball we play," Henderson manager Cory Edwards said. "We grind it out; do a lot of little things and I'm proud of that.
"It's a lot of small baseball players doing the right work."
What work they have done.
Henderson has taken the torch from last year's national champion Summerlin South Little League, from nearby Las Vegas. Those teams mirror each other in that neither looked the most intimidating. They just both have played great, fundamentally-sound baseball.
Henderson entered the winner's bracket final 12-0 this summer and its first two Series wins highlighted all that has made it so successful. The Mountain champions erased a three-run, fourth inning deficit and walked off with a 6-5 opening win against Ohio before scoring five fifth inning runs and blanking Washington, 5-0 last Sunday.
"From a pitching and defense standpoint, if we can get deep in a ball game; we can give our offense enough confidence to know they don't have to catch up much. That makes us effective in late innings," Edwards said. "Nobody wants to start slow, but I think also that's where we're most comfortable. My favorite score of all-time is 1-0, so that kind of speaks to the way the team is kind of falling in line with that. If you can play well late in those tight ball games, you're going to set yourself up for success in the long run."
Henderson has turned its all-star season into quite a long run, with the possibility to stretch it as far as possible. The first two Series games shine a light on how it has done so. All 12 players are versatile offensive threats; 10 had hits against Nevada and both the pitching and defense excel.
This is not a team which mashes the ball all over the field, but something Major Leaguers seem to have forgotten is that there are plenty of ways to produce runs without the long ball. Henderson has proven it again, consistently collecting runs with its deep offense that also aggressively runs the bases.
That this team is fast seems ironic. Because, it is adept at turning games into a grind. It might not reveal itself early, but the toll Henderson takes on opponents with its entire arsenal sure pays dividends as games progress.
"We just focus up. We all believe in each other," second baseman Adrian Cruz said after making a spectacular catch down the right field line Sunday. "When we believe in each other, and work hard we just win the ball games."
The team's balance and versatility allow it to win games in so many different ways, too. Against Ohio, that meant pitchers delivering in tense moments; a defense erasing potential scoring opportunities and an offense which heated up as the game continued.
Henderson trailed 5-2 in the fourth inning, but scored twice in the bottom of that inning, once in the fifth and won it in the sixth. On a team of heroes, Hudson Cowley played the ultimate one there, hitting a two-out, walk-off single.
"It was insane. I never thought I would do anything like that in my life. I was just so excited," Cowley said. "My body was numb. I couldn't even feel myself. I just heard the crown and the noise and all the energy."
Henderson kept its energy high despite the slow start against Ohio. There is no clock in baseball and Henderson seems quite comfortable, often adjusting well throughout contests, pulling together and pouncing on seemingly every opportunity which comes its way.
It was a similar story at regionals when Henderson rallied late to force extra innings before edging Utah, 4-3. In that game, Logan Edwards preserved the win, producing a strikeout with the bases loaded. This time, it was the offense walking it off as Henderson's grinding style again generated another big win.
"It took us a second to wake up, so I don't think we were our full selves at the beginning, but I loved how we battled," Cory Edwards said following the Ohio win. "Our team grinds it out. We are absolutely relentless in that."
A worldwide audience learned that again Sunday. Playing a 9 a.m. game, Henderson looked sluggish at first, but all its qualities came bursting out. Brooks McFarland took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and left the bases loaded with one out in the top of the first. Cruz's highlight catch was the defensive play of the game and the offense erupted in the fifth inning, producing five runs as Henderson broke a scoreless tie.
Just as impressive as the eruption was how Henderson did it. Logan Edwards and Michael Kleiner opened the inning with bunt singles. Cruz hit a sacrifice fly; Payton Hinsen dropped another bunt single which led to an errant throw and another run. Half of Henderson's six hits that inning came via bunts and Henderson kept proving how many different ways teams can win games.
"Bunting is a big part of it," Carsynn Meyer said after hitting an RBI single that inning. "Our bunting was able to get us a head start with the energy and that just kind of led us through the inning."
That win was quintessential Henderson. McFarland and Edwards combined on a two-hit shutout; the defense made no errors and 10 players combined for 11 hits. It was a true team win by a team which has developed both its skills and chemistry throughout this memorable summer.
"We're making sure nobody is carrying the weight of the load," Cory Edwards said. "It's a team game. We're not playing golf out here. We have to utilize each other and they did that well at the end of the game."
Doing so since June has guaranteed Henderson a no worse than third-place finish at the Series.
"I never really thought we'd be this far but we practiced and we got there," McFarland said. "We worked hard."
That included during days when the temperature hit 113 degrees. Glory comes with a price and this team had no problem paying it. Doing so has made it one of the world's best.
And whatever the finish, it is everything this team has done while getting there which so many will long remember.
"Everything they worked for their whole lives for in the 12 short years they've been around has led to this," Paseo Verde Little League president Mike Fairweather said. "It's what they live for. These kids eat, live, breath and sleep baseball and to see them do it is special."