SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — How does a group of 12-year olds get ready for the biggest baseball game of their lives?
Sandwiches, hot dogs and video games. Living the life, they are.
An eventful Friday began with a near-two-hour practice for Paseo Verde at South Williamsport Community Park. Afterwards, players drove with their parents to a house owned by friends of coach Bill Senne and enjoyed the afternoon.
Food was served, and the kids kept busy with a tournament of playing the “MLB: The Show” video game.
They were loose. They were also tired. They’ve been away from home for 22 straight days since regionals in San Bernardino, California, on Aug. 6.
The journey will be worth it if they can defeat Hamilton, Ohio, in the U.S. championship game of the Little League World Series at Lamade Stadium at 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday.
“It’s exciting, for sure,” third baseman Hudson Cowley said. “I think we’re ready for this moment.”
It’s the third time ever a team in Nevada is playing for the national title, and the second year in a row following Summerlin South’s run to the world championship game last year.
This is the most pressure Paseo Verde has faced during a summer where it’s gone 13-0 dating back to the district championships.
That’s why coaches at practice Friday emphasized maximum effort while not getting too high or low in the moment.
“I think our team is capable of (winning) against anybody,” manager Cory Edwards said. “I have to have that confidence. If we don’t have that kind of confidence that we can beat anybody, then I don’t think we should be here.”
One more time
This is a rematch of the first game of the tournament for both teams. A lot has changed since then.
For one, the only people who saw what happened in the game were the ones at the stadium at 9 a.m.
It was supposed to take place Aug. 20 but was postponed because of inclement weather.
ESPN did not broadcast the game, so no one caught Cowley’s walk-off single in the bottom of the sixth that gave Paseo Verde the 6-5 win except for the spectators in the stands.
“I knew (the pitcher) was throwing hard,” Cowley said when remembering his game-winning hit. “I had to get the barrel out and he missed middle in, and I just barreled it up.”
It’s the only game Paseo Verde has trailed all tournament. It needed a three-run rally to tie in the fifth inning, and didn’t take the lead until the last pitch of the game.
Both teams have cruised since then. Paseo Verde used late-inning rallies to pull away in their last two games, outscoring opponents 19-6.
Hamilton has dominated since that lone loss, storming through the loser’s bracket by outscoring teams 39-6.
“They’re scoring a lot,” Edwards said. “They’re playing aggressively on the bases, bunting a lot more or showing bunt, but I think they’re just doing a lot of things right.”
Options on the mound
Edwards said he’s still contemplating who to start, given he’s gone with three different starting pitchers that have each turned different results.
Owen Guzman, who dominated in the Mountain Region championship game in San Bernardino, lasted 1⅓ innings against Hamilton on 52 pitches.
Brooks McFarland got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning against Tacoma two days later and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning.
Maddox Bryan and Payton Hinsen combined for 5⅓ innings of four-hit baseball in the 14-6 win over Iowa on Wednesday.
All four are eligible to pitch Saturday.
Guzman is still their ace, and has been throwing bullpen sessions to stay ready if he gets the call Saturday.
There is confidence in whoever Edwards and the coaching staff go with. Paseo Verde’s pitching has gotten them on the doorstep of playing for a world title.
Twenty-two straight days away from home. What’s two more going to do?
“I think the thing we’re going to learn from is we’re less nervous this time around,” Edwards said. “(The first game against Hamilton) was game one on this field.
“Kids don’t know what to expect. Now they do, and we’ll be ready.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Paseo Verde vs. West Side (Hamilton, Ohio)
What: U.S. championship, Little League World Series
When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Lamade Stadium, South Williamsport, Pennsylvania
TV: ABC
