Paseo Verde manager Cory Edwards called Friday’s opener in the Little League World Series a slow start.
Playing a game at 9 a.m. EDT, following a rain delay on Thursday, didn’t help matters.
The time remains the same for Sunday’s matchup against Soundview Little League from Tacoma, Washington, at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The winner advances and puts itself one win away from reaching the U.S. championship game.
The downside for Paseo Verde is not having the accustomed second day off that is usually reserved for those in the winner’s bracket.
Inclement weather forced Paseo Verde’s opener against Hamilton, Ohio, to be pushed back a day with a bright-and-early start.
Paseo Verde fell behind 2-0 after the first inning and later 5-2, but woke up in the later stages for a walk-off 6-5 win.
Part of that slow start Edwards alluded to was a tight strike zone called from behind the plate. That also led to starting pitcher Owen Guzman throwing 52 pitches and being taken out after 1.1 innings.
“I don’t want to say the umpires are a factor, but we certainly wanted the zone to be opened up a little bit more from a consistency standpoint,” Edwards said. “Not just from team to team, but just what we’ve been used to this entire summer.”
Little League World Series rules say a pitcher needs three days of calendar rest if they throw between 51 to 65 pitches.
As much as Edwards wanted to give Guzman the maximum 85 pitches on Friday, it wasn’t worth trying to exhaust him early in the tournament.
Payton Hinsen threw 2.2 innings in relief of Guzman and threw 47 pitches. He’s also unavailable to throw Sunday.
Brooks McFarland and Logan Edwards are available after combining to throw 44 pitches in two innings.
“I think we have enough arms from a pitching standpoint,” Edwards said. “We would have had Payton and Owen back had the game been (Thursday) and the same thing happened.”
The Northwest Regional winners from Tacoma won’t feel sorry for Paseo Verde having a slightly condensed schedule.
Soundview has already played twice, defeating Phenix City, Alabama, 2-0 and then a 4-3 win Friday over Boerne, Texas.
That second win didn’t come easy. Boerne had the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth with no outs and couldn’t get home a run. Soundview’s first two outs came on force-outs at home, then a flyout to center to end it.
Boerne was in the U.S. championship game in 2024.
The winner is going to get some needed rest. They won’t play again until Wednesday. The loser faces an elimination game on Tuesday.
“I love that we had the bye. I’m not going to argue about that, but it was a week since we last played,” Edwards said. “We’d love to get the reps in, feel a little bit of our game back, get the dirt underneath our toes and start getting to work.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
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What: Little League World Series
Who: Paseo Verde vs. Soundview (Tacoma, Wash.)
Where: South Williamsport, Pa.
When: 6 a.m. PT Sunday
TV: ESPN
