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Nevada scores 14 runs to defeat Iowa in winners’ bracket game

By Chris Masse 6 min read

Making history at Paseo Verde is mighty difficult.

But the team from Henderson, Nevada has done just that. And now it stands alone as the most decorated team in the league's tradition-laden history.

The U.S. championship does exist for the dreams from Henderson and, Saturday, they will playing in it.

Maddox Bryan and Paxton Hinsen combined to throw 5 1/3 innings of shutout baseball and Henderson scored 14 straight runs over the final three innings, thumping Davenport, Iowa, 14-6 in Wednesday's Little League World Series winner's bracket final at Lamade Stadium. Next up is a date Saturday in the U.S. Final against either Iowa, Ohio or Alabama. Paseo Verde won two games at the 2024 Series but this 2026 squad becomes the first to reach a national championship and win three games.

"It feels great. Back home we'll be famous," Brooks McFarland said after going 1 for 2 with a two-run double. "In our league, we'll for sure be remembered."

Truth be told, they this team always would be fondly remembered even had it gone 0-2 at the Series. But carrying the torch from that 2024 squad certainly has cemented its status in both league and Henderson lore.

For good reason.

Henderson improved to 3-0 at the Series and, after erasing a three-run deficit against Ohio in its opener, scored 23 straight runs before Iowa scored six times with two outs in the sixth inning. That ended a streak of 13 2/3 straight scoreless innings by Henderson pitchers.

Relentless, balanced and deep, Henderson has somehow flown under the radar but emphatically has shown why it is one of the country's top two teams.

"Because of the work they did a couple years ago, we get to learn from them and be here," Henderson manager Cory Edwards said. "We've talked to that coaching staff; I've coached those players and so I'm grateful for the league in general for what it has given us to give us this opportunity to get here."

Henderson keeps embracing that opportunity, too.

Iowa was labeled the favorite entering the game with dominant left-hander Cooper Thissen pitching. And he was spectacular again, throwing 3 2/3 no-hit innings while striking out 10. But manager Mark Erwin rolled the dice with two outs in the fourth inning of a scoreless game, hoping to save Thissen for a potential Sunday world championship.

Henderson made sure the move backfired. The Mountain champions had five straight two-out runners reach base, scored four runs and went ahead to stay. They kept pouring it on from there, collecting 10 hits and scoring 14 times over the final 2 1/3 innings.

"I wouldn't let him go the rest of the game or we'd lose him for the tournament. Our goal is to get to the end," Iowa manager Mark Erwin said. "If we would have rode him out that will get us to Saturday but I know we're going to need him over the weekend to finish. The goal was to go 50 pitches, potentially 65, which is where we ended up, and at least that gets us there if we win tomorrow. We're not eliminated yet, so we have a chance (Thursday)."

Indeed, the Midwest champions do. They will play the winner of Wednesday night's Ohio-Alabama game which ended after deadline. The winner of that game faces Henderson for the U.S. title Saturday.

Henderson earned its spot with production again coming from everywhere in the order with 11 players reaching base and nine generating hits. Michael Guerrero went 2 for 3 with a double and four RBIs, while Owen Guzman and Brooks McFarland each doubled. Eight players produced RBIs and Henderson broke open the game in a mammoth way during the sixth inning, scoring nine times.

Over the last three games, Henderson has scored 23 runs during the game's final three innings, especially pouncing the second and third times through its dangerous order.

"That (sixth inning was) and we had a pretty solid inning against Spring Valley in our state championship in Reno where we collected seven runs in the inning," Edwards said. "Everyone was hitting; everyone was squaring up baseballs. I think we've seen it a couple of times, sparks here and there."

As good as the Henderson offense was, Bryan and Hinsen were equally impressive on the mound.

Bryan started and went 2 1/3 innings, striking out three. Hinsen earned the win in relief, striking out three in three innings. Nevada used four pitchers and all four remain eligible to throw in Saturday's national final.

Even better, all three pitchers remain eligible for Saturday's U.S. Final. McFarland made a jumping catch in right field during the second inning, before Bryan ended an Iowa threat in the second inning after it had a runner on third with one out. It was all Henderson from there, with it taking a 14-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth.

"I didn't know that I was going to go in. I thought it was going to be somebody else," Hinsen said. "But when they called my name, I was ready. I was ready to go to work."

Iowa, however, did continue fighting, scoring three runs with two outs in the sixth. Anthony Johnson kept the inning going with a single before Kannon Kane belted a two-run double and Johnson scored on a wild pitch. Caleb Erwin continued displaying the team's resiliency, hitting an RBI single and scoring on an error.

Down to his last strike, Xavier Ludtke slammed an RBI double before Michael Kleiner induced a game-ending pop out. Now the goal is carrying that momentum into Thursday morning's game. Do that and Iowa will be right where it wants to be, the first team from its state to reach a U.S. Final since 2000.

Time will tell how it plays out, but the ending may have actually been a good start.

"That's what we told them. Let's keep that momentum into (Thursday) and hopefully that's a sign of some good things to come," Erwin said. "I feel like we're game ready for anything they throw at us. Those runs that inning; we can build on that."

Starting at /week.