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Nevada defeats Ohio in mercy-rule game 12-2 in 5 innings to claim US championship at LLWS

By From staff reports 4 min read

Henderson, Nevada is the best Little League team in the United States.

Henderson, Nevada's Maddox Bryan had a hard shot into left field which drove in Jace Ward and gave the Mountain Regional champions a mercy-rule, 12-2, win against Hamilton, Ohio on Saturday at Lamade Stadium in five innings.

The win keeps Nevada undefeated at this year's Series as the mountain Regional champions improved to 4-0. It ended Ohio's outstanding run through the elimination bracket. Ohio, who lost to Nevada in a close game by a run in their first matchup at the Series, went on to rally off five consecutive wins in the losers' bracket to reach Saturday's championship matchup.

With the win, Henderson, Nevada advances to face Willemstad, Curacao -- another undefeated team -- in this year's Little League World Series championship game at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Hamilton, Ohio will face Tokyo, Japan, another team which lost its opener and went on to win five losers' bracket games in Sunday morning's Little League World Series consolation game at Lamade Stadium.

Either Ohio or Japan will end the Series with six wins.

Ohio tied the game in the top of the second inning, but a five-run bottom of the second inning blew the game open and put Nevada in the driver's seat.

A fielder's choice by Walker Osborne allowed Bob Frazier to score for Ohio in the second to tie it at 1-1.

In the bottom of the second inning, it was a string of singles that helped the Mountain Regional champions score six runs.

Bryan had a line-drive single to bring in both Michael Kleiner and Ward for a 3-1 lead before a single by Carsynn Meyer made it a 4-1 lead by driving in Payton Hinsen. Owen Guzman would later single to center which allowed Michael Guerrero and extended the lead to 6-1.

"It's great. The job's not finished," Owen Guzman said on national television after Sunday's win. "It's great. we never get down on each other, we always stay up. It's always a lot of fun around these guys."

The Great Lakes Regional champions would score another run in the top of the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 6-2, but that's the closest Ohio would come in the final two innings to clawing back.

That run by Ohio was thanks to a Frazier single to center which allowed Bryson Williams to score and moved Jack McAdams to second. but McAdams wouldn't be able to get drove in.

Nevada added two runs in the bottom fo the fourth to again extend the lead.Adrian Cruz singled to center on a line drive whihch brought in Logan Edwards. Later int he inning, Michael Guerrero was hit by a pitch with bases loaded that brought in Maddox Bryan.

Brooks McFarland doubled in the bottom of the fifth on a fly to left and brought in both Hudson Cowley and Guzman for a 10-2 lead vs. Ohio. Edwards grounded out to second for the second out of the inning, but it allowed McFarland to score to make it an 11-2 lead before Bryan's RBI single put the mercy-rule into effect and ended the game.

Guzman had a solid day on the mound as he threw 3 2/3 innings, allowing five hits with just two earned runs, two strikeouts and four walks. Payton Hinsen relieved him and threw 1 1/3 innigs with just one walk given up.

"It's been a long couple months. But we still have one more game," Guzman said on national television with his teammates cheering around him.

Josiah Infante received the loss on the mound for Ohio with 1 1/3 innings thrown, allowing five runs. Frazier threw 1 2/3 innings of relief with three strikeouts and two runs while Leo Feltner had 1 2/3 innings of relief with two strikeouts and five earned runs.

Nevada collected 13 hits as Guzman went 3 for 3 with an RBI and two runs, Kleiner went 2 for 2 with a run, Bryan went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and run scored and Cruz (1 for 1), Hinsen (1 for 1), Meyer (1 fo r2), McFarland (1 for 3, two RBIs), Ward (1 for 2) and Edwards (1 for 3) had hits.

Ohio's Frazier was the team's only batter with multiple hits as he finished 2 for 2 with a run scored and RBI. Finn Dykes (1 for 1), Feltner (1 for 1) and Xander Kinkade (1 for 1) all collected singles.

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