Paseo Verde Little League is headed to the Little League World Series championship game after overwhelming Hamilton West Side Little League of Ohio 12-2 in five innings Saturday at Lamade Stadium.
The Henderson team won the United States championship by the 10-run rule and remained unbeaten in Williamsport. Nevada also secured back-to-back U.S. titles after Summerlin South won the American bracket in 2025.
Paseo Verde will face Curaçao on Sunday for the world championship.
Guzman sets the tone
Owen Guzman opened the game on the mound and immediately attacked, striking out Boone Treadway to start a scoreless first inning. He then sparked the offense in the bottom half with a leadoff triple to right.
Guzman scored moments later on a heads-up baserunning play after a pitch got away and Hamilton lost track of him as the ball came back toward the mound. Hamilton tied the game 1-1 in the second, but Henderson answered quickly.
Five-run second puts Henderson in control
Paseo Verde made Hamilton starter Josiah Infante work throughout the second inning before breaking through. Jace Ward walked and Michael Kleiner singled before Maddox Bryan drove both home with a two-run single to right.
Adrian Cruz walked and Payton Hinsen moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt before Michael Guerrero was hit by a pitch. Carsynn Meyer then delivered an RBI single up the middle, scoring Hinsen.
The hit made Meyer the sixth girl in Little League Baseball World Series history to record multiple hits in the tournament.
A wild pitch brought home Cruz before Guzman added an RBI single to center. By the end of the inning, Henderson led 6-1 and had chased Infante.
Defense repeatedly shuts the door
Paseo Verde’s defense became one of the defining parts of the win, turning three double plays while Hamilton tried to create traffic against Guzman.
In the third, Hudson Cowley started a 5-4-3 double play that ended the inning. Guzman charged off the mound pumping his right fist, visibly fired up by the defense behind him.
Another double play helped Guzman through the fourth before Hamilton mounted its biggest threat. Bob Frazier delivered an RBI single to cut the lead to 6-2 before a wild pitch and walk loaded the bases.
Guzman reached the Little League pitch limit at 88 pitches and moved to second base. Hinsen entered with two outs and the bases loaded, then got Walker Osborne to fly out to center to escape the jam.
Guzman allowed two runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings with four walks and two strikeouts. Hinsen followed with 1 1/3 hitless, scoreless innings.
Paseo Verde pulls away
Henderson added two more runs in the fourth after Logan Edwards singled and Cruz drove him home with a single to center. Hinsen followed with another hit before Guerrero was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in Bryan.
The defense turned its third double play in the top of the fifth, setting up the finishing push.
Guzman opened the bottom half with his third hit of the game before Cowley was hit by a pitch. Brooks McFarland then doubled home both runners to stretch the lead to 10-2.
Ward singled before Edwards brought home McFarland with a groundout. Kleiner followed with another single and Bryan ended the game with a hard ground-ball single that scored Ward for the 12-2 final.
Henderson heads to world championship
Paseo Verde finished with 13 hits as several players contributed to the U.S. title.
Guzman went 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs and an RBI. Bryan finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Kleiner went 2-for-2.
McFarland drove in two runs with his fifth-inning double. Cruz, Meyer and Edwards also drove in runs as Henderson completed another balanced offensive performance.
Curaçao advanced earlier Saturday with a 4-0 win over Japan behind 12 strikeouts from Jaymiëll Martina. Paseo Verde now gets one more game, this time with a world championship on the line.
Related stories
Paseo Verde shuts out Tacoma to stay unbeaten in Williamsport
Welcome to Dice City Sports — where we provide premium, exclusive, up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the Las Vegas sports scene. Follow along on social media, and check back for new articles daily!
Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
