Henderson wins again at Little League World Series — PHOTOS
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Chad Hanson is the manager of the Midwest champions from Fargo, North Dakota, the first team from that state to make the Little League World Series.
He had a firsthand view of the Henderson All-Stars on Sunday.
“Pitched well, fielded well, hit well,” Hanson said. “They’re well-coached. I’m disappointed we’re going home, but that was a really good team we just played.”
One that seems to be hitting (literally) its stride at the right time.
Henderson moved on with a 7-1 win at Lamade Stadium, once again riding clutch hitting and shut-down pitching to move further into the bracket.
It next plays at noon PT Tuesday on ESPN against the loser of Monday’s game between the Southeast and Northwest region champions.
Here’s the best part for Henderson: It didn’t have to pitch ace Nolan Gifford on Sunday, meaning he’ll be on full rest for what promises to be the team’s toughest game of the event thus far.
“We came out with a win today but didn’t play our best baseball,” said Henderson manager Ryan Gifford, Nolan’s father. “But we played well enough to win. We should be sitting good. I’m optimistic. We didn’t swing the bats as well as usual, but we were pretty good in general.”
Pitching depth
Fact: Their depth of pitching is allowing Henderson to make a run after dropping its opening game of the Series.
Nolan Gifford is a strong No. 1, but those behind him are coming up big. It was David Edwards who allowed just two runs in a 13-2 rout of Ohio on Saturday and Logan Levasseur who pitched 3⅔ innings of scoreless ball Sunday.
Even in defeat — a 3-1 loss to the Metro Region champion from Rhode Island to open the tournament for Henderson — Gifford and Levasseur combined on a one-hitter.
Henderson players weren’t made available Sunday so they could watch the Major League Baseball Little League Classic game between the Phillies and Nationals.
The All-Stars were shuttled from their win against North Dakota over to nearby Bowman Field, where the MLB game was to take place.
Earlier in the day, Las Vegas natives Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott of the Phillies interacted with the Henderson players before their game, signing gear, taking selfies and offering the youngsters advice.
Then the team went out and won again.
And it included another home run from Nolan Gifford.
This was a solo shot in the third to make it 3-1 Henderson, one day after Gifford hit a three-run homer for a 10-0 lead against Ohio.
Dad likes how his son is swinging the bat.
Seeing it well
“Nolan has been dialed in at the plate for a few months now,” Ryan Gifford said. “It didn’t really show up at the regionals (in San Bernardino), probably because he pitched so much. I’m not sure if there was a little fatigue or not. But he’s really seeing the ball well. It’s exciting to watch.”
A lot of them are seeing it well.
Henderson had eight hits Sunday, when 11 of 12 batters reached base. No one had more than one, and Levasseur’s double accounted for the team’s only other extra-base hit to go with Gifford’s homer.
“We’ll tighten some things up and be better Tuesday,” Ryan Gifford said. “I want to keep playing as long as we can. We came here talking about wanting to do some damage, and I think we’ve demonstrated we can.
“I like where we’re sitting. I like our matchups and how things are laid out with our pitching rotation. This is awesome. It’s fun. I expect to keep playing.”
Contact sports columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.