Cooper Thissen homered to lead off the bottom of the first inning, then combined with Anthony Johnson Jr. on a no-hitter as Davenport, Iowa, shut out Bonita, Calif., 1-0 on Friday at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa.
Thissen threw 90 pitches (59 for strikes), fanned 15 and walked four in 5 1/3 innings. After California put two runners aboard with one out in the sixth, fellow left-hander Johnson walked his first batter to load the bases before striking out the next two. He threw 17 pitches, eight for strikes.
Kannon Kane had the only other hit, a single, for Iowa of the Midwest Region.
California’s Noah Kirk, whose team is representing the West Region, went 4 2/3 innings and yielded the two hits. He struck out 13 and walked two before moving to shortstop. Leo Gonzales struck out the last Davenport batter in the bottom of the fifth.
Curacao 6, Japan 0
Jaymiell Martina and Giendry Ryan combined on a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts and two walks as Curacao shut out Japan.
Steven Felix drove in two runs and Shardijon De Lanoi had an RBI double for the game’s only extra-base hit for Curacao, which totaled eight hits. Martina went 4 2/3 innings with two walks and seven strikeouts, and Ryan pitched 1 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and no walks.
Japan used four pitchers, with starter Tensei Yazawa taking the loss after allowing two runs on three hits with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.
Nevada 6, Ohio 5
Brooks McFarland singled with two outs in the sixth inning to drive in teammate Owen Guzman, giving Henderson, Nev., a walk-off win over Hamilton, Ohio.
Ohio jumped out to a 2-0 lead after RBI singles by Leo Feltner and Finn Dykes, but Nevada evened the score in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Michael Kleiner and a single by Maddox Bryan that drove in Kleiner.
Three singles and a walk led to three runs in the fourth for Ohio, which reclaimed the lead at 5-2, only to see Nevada put up two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to move the score to 5-5.
Ohio, representing the Great Lakes Region, threatened in the sixth when Josiah Infante singled and Feltner walked. But a flyout in foul territory and a double play ended the scoring chance and allowed Nevada, from the Mountain Region, the opportunity for the walk-off win.
Mexico 7, Australia 1
Mexico managed only three hits but took advantage of seven walks, four hit batters and three errors to defeat Australia.
Australia pitcher Aaron Dare walked the bases loaded in the first inning, and two errors and a fielder’s choice cleared the bases, giving Mexico a 3-0 lead.
The lead jumped to 5-0 in the third after Matias Garcia reached on an error, advanced on a flyout and scored on a single by Jorge Fonseca, who later came in on a sacrifice fly. Australia broke through with a run in the top of the fifth, only to have Mexico add two more in its half of the inning.
Mexico pitchers Fonseca, Esteban Bautista and Paul Lavenant combined to allow five hits and strike out 11.
Nicaragua 6, Panama 4
Leon, Nicaragua scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning and then survived a bases-loaded scare in the bottom half as the Latin America representatives defeated David, Panama.
Nicaragua managed just one hit but made the most of its opportunities. Kendry Arauz Roque drove in two runs and also worked 3 2/3 innings on the mound, while Moises Estrada Juarez allowed one run over two innings of relief. The four-run sixth turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 advantage.
Panama scored once in the bottom of the sixth and loaded the bases to put the tying run in scoring position. The comeback ended when a runner attempted to score on a wild pitch and was retired at the plate. Lucas Olmos and Jadhier Rivera had two hits apiece for Panama, which totaled seven hits.
Washington 4, Texas 3
Kasen Workman drove in two runs and then escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning as Tacoma, Wash., edged Boerne, Texas.
Tacoma jumped ahead 2-0 in the first after five of its first six batters reached base. Boerne answered with Merritt Cude’s RBI single in the bottom half and tied the game in the second when Lawson Belden singled home Anders Paulson. Workman put the Northwest Region back in front for good with a two-run double in the third.
Boerne pulled within 4-3 on Paulson’s RBI single in the fifth and threatened again in its final at-bat. Kase Yarbrough doubled, Walker Yost was hit by a pitch and Cude reached on an error to load the bases with nobody out. Workman entered and induced consecutive forceouts at home before getting Carson Patrick to line out to center to end the game.
–Field Level Media
