Clarendon Hills never really got going Wednesday and lost 16-1 to the Mountain Region champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, in the opening round of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The game didn’t get completely out of hand until the top of the sixth inning when the Nevada state champion scored 11 runs while sending 16 batters to the plate.
After giving up a run in the top of the first, Clarendon Hills, the Great Lakes Region champion, had its best scoring chance of the game in the bottom half of the opening frame when it loaded the bases with one out on a hit batter, a walk and an error. But Nevada pitcher Garrett Gallegos struck out consecutive Clarendon Hills hitters to get out the inning without any damage.
“Missed opportunity with bases loaded could have swung momentum for us,” Clarendon Hills manager Brian Herold said. “Pitching wasn’t efficient in the early innings, and the final score not indicative of the game.”
Herold said he kept a close eye on pitch counts of his pitchers, as their use in future games is determined by that.
“I saved pitching,” he said. “The lopsided loss is on me.”
Nevada added four runs on five hits in the second inning as Clarendon Hills starting pitcher Luke Schaller gave way to Brody Herold along the way.
Neither team scored again until the top of the sixth. Clarendon Hills avoided the shutout in the bottom of that final inning when Herold singled and eventually scored on an obstruction call on the Nevada third baseman.
Clarendon Hills isn’t scheduled to play again until 6 p.m. Saturday in the elimination bracket.
The Clarendon Hills vs Nevada game was the first United States contest in the 2025 Little League World Series, which runs through Aug. 24 and includes 10 teams from different regions of the United States along with 10 from other countries.
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Along with Clarendon Hills and Nevada, U.S. teams regional tournament winners include teams from Fairfield, Connecticut (Metro); Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania (Mid-Atlantic); Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Midwest); Braintree, Massachusetts (New England); Bonney Lake, Washington (Northwest); Irmo, South Carolina (Southeast); Richmond, Texas (Southwest); and Honolulu, Hawaii (West).
International teams are from Taipei, Chinese Taipei (Asia-Pacific); Brisbane, Queensland (Australia); Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada); Santa Cruz, Aruba (Caribbean); Brno, Czechia (Europe-Africa); Tokyo (Japan); Barquisimeto, Venezuela (Latin America); Chihuahua (Mexico); Arraijan (Panama); and Yabucoa (Puerto Rico).
The U.S. championship game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Aug. 23, following the International championship at 11:30 a.m.
The World Series championship contest, pitting the U.S. and International champions, is at 2 p.m. Aug, 24.
All three championship games will be broadcast on ABC. Earlier-round games are being shown on ESPN.
A year ago, Clarendon Hills’ neighboring village Hinsdale made its first trip to the Little League World Series, but was eliminated with shutout losses in its first two games, to teams from the West and Metro regions.
In the leadup to this year’s World Series tournament, Clarendon Hills had a dominating, 6-0, record in winning the Illinois State championship while outscoring opponents 60-7. But the double-elimination format proved very important in claiming both the District and Great Lakes titles.
A loss to Naperville Continental in the District round put Clarendon Hills on the brink of elimination, but the same teams met in the July 13 championship, and Clarendon Hills came out on top, 8-2.
Herold said the confidence boost his team got from beating Naperville Continental after losing to the same team earlier in the tournament was a factor after Clarendon Hills lost 11-1 Aug. 4 to the state champion from Ohio. A 5-2 win over Kentucky a day later gave Clarendon Hills another shot at undefeated Ohio and this time it was Clarendon Hills that managed a 9-4 victory to win the Region championship and advance to the World Series.
“This team has a lot of confidence and they all believe in each other,” Herold said. “Even after our losses, everyone believed we were going to come back and win.”
And Herold is looking forward to Saturday’s game.
“Our rallying cry will be, ‘remember Ohio,’” he said after Wednesday’s loss. “The boys will come out sharper on Saturday.”
The Mountain Region champion, Summerlin South Little League from Las Vegas, Nevada, won all three of its games in San Bernardino, California, defeating Colorado, 17-0, and then Utah, 22-12 and 6-3. Summerlin South is the fourth Nevada team to make the World Series.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.