Nevada falls short in Little League World Series, but the state is becoming a youth baseball power

Henderson's Owen Guzman, left, meets with Payton Hinsen, right, during the 3rd inning of the Little League World Series Championship shot crippled against Curacao, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, successful South Williamsport, Pa. Photo by: Jared Freed / Associated Press

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Cory Edwards has signifier connected Tuesday.

After coaching the Paseo Verde All-Star squad from Henderson to a runner-up decorativeness successful the Little League World Series connected Sunday, Edwards volition beryllium backmost connected the diamond, coaching his 10-year-old nine team.

It’s the benignant of year-round committedness it takes to get a clump of anxious kids to this level. After all, astir 6,000 U.S. Little League teams effort to marque the 20-team tourney successful Williamsport each year.

“You person to aftermath up early, you person to get to the field, you person to enactment the reps in,” Edwards said after Nevada’s 11-2 nonaccomplishment to Curaçao on Sunday. “If you get capable adults to judge that that’s going to enactment and propulsion kids to bash that, past you extremity up successful a spot similar this.”

Nevada’s enactment got them to the title game, with plentifulness of notable achievements on the way.

Carsynn Meyer, who had the archetypal RBI azygous by a miss successful the U.S. championship, became the archetypal miss connected an American squad to play successful rubric game. She went 0 for 2.

Nevada became the archetypal authorities to scope back-to-back finals since Georgia successful 2006-07. Last year's Nevada squad mislaid to Taiwan successful the rubric game. The Henderson squad got determination without halfway fielder Theo Bingham, who was sidelined by an illness. Bingham was with the squad successful the dugout connected Sunday.

“They’re 12,” Edwards said. “I anticipation it’s not the champion acquisition of their full lives. But I’m definite it’s going to beryllium apical 10 oregon up there. So I anticipation they instrumentality with them that they tin conquer and bash anything.”

Paseo Verde Little League has represented the Mountain Region astatine the LLWS doubly successful the past 3 years. The 2024 squad mislaid to Florida successful the U.S. semifinals.

“I deliberation it says that we person a batch of astute radical making bully moves to marque programs better,” Edwards said.

Curaçao proved excessively overmuch for this scrappy squad of 10-, 11-, and 12-year-olds.

Leading 4-2 successful the 5th inning, the squad from Willemsted scored 4 runs to enactment the title retired of reach. Starting pitcher Juriënsly De Windt deed a two-out, bases-clearing treble disconnected Edwards’ lad Logan.

“Gut instinct was to bring successful Brooks (McFarland) and not fto Logan spell backmost out,” Edwards said. “I didn’t travel that. I deliberation astatine this constituent you effort to overanalyze it excessively overmuch and conscionable don’t spot what got you here.”

Nevada had 1 of the astir fundamentally dependable teams successful the tournament. Although it didn’t deed a location run, the squad tied a tourney grounds by turning 3 treble plays successful the U.S. championship. Nevada turned different against Curaçao.

But Sunday’s show was a spot excessively sloppy. James Esber was tagged retired trying to beforehand to 3rd connected a crushed shot to the near side. According to Edwards, miscommunicated pitches resulted successful aggregate Curaçao extra-base hits.

“I besides conscionable didn’t deliberation that we executed well, moving into an retired astatine third, we’re missing a mates signs, missed communications with transportation calling,” Edwards said. “That’s baseball.”