Adrian Cruz is the only 11-year-old on Paseo Verde’s Little League roster.
That’s only by design because Cruz wasn’t even supposed to be on the roster.
Cruz was at home preparing to play for the 12U National Team for Team USA when his family got the call that Paseo Verde needed another player because of the uncertainty around second baseman Theo Bingham’s illness.
Cruz, all 4-foot-6 of him, joined Paseo Verde in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in time for the Little League World Series.
The second baseman has already made an impact, as Paseo Verde sits one win away from reaching the U.S. championship game. They can get there Wednesday with a win over Davenport Northwest (Iowa).
“He is tiny. He is small,” manager Cory Edwards said. “But he is a flat-out baseball player.”
Cruz has four plate appearances in two games. He’s yet to get a hit. His sacrifice fly Sunday in the 5-0 win over Tacoma plated Paseo Verde’s second run in a five-run fifth inning.
His bat didn’t make the headlines on Sunday. It was his glove. Cruz made a highlight-reel sliding catch on a pop-up that drifted toward foul territory to preserve pitcher Brooks McFarland’s no-hitter he carried into the fifth inning.
“He got a really good jump on that ball,” Edwards said. “He’s a max effort guy, too.”
Sliding in to save the day ��
Rule the Dirt, presented by @Ford pic.twitter.com/hEFNBlL9JD— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 23, 2026blockquote>
