One Win From History: Nevada Returns to Little League World Series Championship Game

Paseo Verde Little League will face Curaçao on Sunday with a chance to deliver Nevada its first Little League World Series championship

For the second consecutive summer, Nevada is heading to the biggest stage in Little League Baseball.

This time, it is Paseo Verde Little League from Henderson, Nevada, carrying the Mountain Region banner into the Little League World Series Championship Game. After rolling past Hamilton, Ohio, 12-2 in Saturday’s United States Championship, Nevada will meet Pariba Little League of Willemstad, Curaçao, on Sunday afternoon at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport.

First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

And for Nevada, there is some unfinished business involved.

One year ago, Summerlin South Little League of Las Vegas reached this same game after winning the United States Championship. Nevada ultimately fell 7-0 to Tung-Yuan Little League of Chinese Taipei in the 2025 final. Now, a different group of Nevada Little Leaguers has brought the state right back to Williamsport’s final game with another opportunity to capture something Nevada has never won — a Little League Baseball World Series championship.

Nevada Has Looked Like a Champion

There has been nothing accidental about Paseo Verde’s run.

Nevada enters Sunday 4-0 in Williamsport, opening its tournament with a tight 6-5 victory over Great Lakes champion Ohio before shutting out Washington, 5-0. Henderson then exploded late in a 14-6 victory over Iowa to advance into the U.S. Championship before meeting Ohio again Saturday and leaving considerably less doubt the second time around.

The 12-2 victory was Nevada at its best.

Owen Guzman opened the game with a triple and eventually finished with three hits and two runs while working 3 2/3 innings on the mound. Maddox Bryan went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Nevada piled up 13 hits before ending the game in five innings via the 10-run rule.

But perhaps the defining moment belonged to Carsynn Meyer.

Meyer became the first girl to play in the United States Championship Game and responded by driving a bases-loaded single up the middle during Nevada’s five-run second inning. The hit helped break the game open and added another chapter to what has already become one of the memorable individual stories of the 2026 tournament.

Nevada also turned three double plays, tying a Little League World Series record and demonstrating why manager Cory Edwards considers pitching and defense central to this team’s identity.

Yet the offense has been impossible to ignore.

Through four games in Williamsport, Nevada has scored 37 runs, an average of more than nine per game. Henderson has shown it can manufacture runs, capitalize on mistakes, put together big innings and continue applying pressure deep into games.

Against Curaçao, that pressure could become especially important.

Curaçao Brings a Different Kind of Challenge

If Nevada has been the tournament’s offensive machine, Curaçao has been almost impossible to score against.

Pariba Little League is also 4-0 in Williamsport.

Curaçao opened with a 6-0 win over Japan, followed with a 1-0 victory against Asia-Pacific, defeated Latin America 12-3 and then blanked Japan again, 4-0, in Saturday’s International Championship.

That means Curaçao has outscored its opponents 23-3 during its run to the championship game.

The headline Saturday was pitcher Jaymiëll Martina, who overwhelmed Japan with 12 strikeouts while also contributing an RBI double. Martina helped hold one of the tournament’s strongest international lineups scoreless and sent Curaçao back to the World Series Championship Game.

There is, however, one enormous factor entering Sunday.

Martina cannot pitch in the championship game.

He reached his Little League pitch-count limit Saturday, throwing 86 pitches, and mandatory rest rules make him unavailable to return to the mound Sunday.

That does not suddenly make Curaçao an easy opponent. Far from it.

Pariba has demonstrated excellent defense, athleticism and an ability to create runs without relying exclusively on power. Against Japan, Curaçao capitalized on defensive mistakes, used bunts to force the issue and continually put pressure on the defense.

But removing Martina from the pitching equation unquestionably changes the complexion of the championship game.

Nevada will not have to solve the pitcher who just struck out 12 Japanese hitters.

Instead, Curaçao will have to turn to another arm against a Nevada lineup that has been relentless throughout the tournament.

The Matchup That Could Decide It

Sunday may ultimately come down to which team controls the strike zone and handles pressure better.

Nevada has shown remarkable lineup depth. Guzman, Bryan, Meyer, Michael Guerrero, Brooks McFarland, Adrian Cruz, Jace Ward and others have all contributed during the run through Williamsport.

There is no obvious place for an opposing pitcher to relax.

That depth becomes particularly significant against a Curaçao staff that has to navigate the championship without Martina on the mound.

For Nevada, the challenge will be preventing Curaçao from turning the game into the type of low-scoring contest it has controlled throughout Williamsport.

The Henderson defense has been outstanding, but Curaçao will test it with speed, bunts and aggressive baserunning. Giving away extra outs could be especially dangerous in a six-inning championship game where every baserunner carries additional weight.

Nevada also must manage its pitching after Guzman worked into the fourth inning Saturday. With virtually no turnaround between the U.S. Championship and the World Championship, staff depth and pitch management become as important as pure talent.

Nevada Has Been Here Before — But Not This Team

There is another fascinating layer to Sunday’s championship.

Nevada knows what it feels like to get this close.

Summerlin South brought the state to the final last August before Chinese Taipei ended the run. Now Henderson has immediately followed it with another U.S. championship.

Different league.

Different players.

Same state.

Same opportunity.

It illustrates just how strong youth baseball has become in Southern Nevada.

Paseo Verde itself is no stranger to Williamsport, having represented Nevada in the Little League World Series in 2024. But this particular run has taken the program further than ever before.

And now there is only one game remaining.

One Game for Everything

Little League baseball has a way of shrinking an entire summer into six innings.

District tournaments, state tournaments, regionals and nearly two weeks in Williamsport eventually lead to one afternoon at Lamade Stadium.

Nevada and Curaçao arrive there undefeated.

Nevada brings the tournament’s explosive offense, crisp defense and a lineup that keeps producing from top to bottom.

Curaçao brings elite run prevention, international championship experience and a style capable of turning one defensive mistake into an entire inning.

Something has to give.

For Paseo Verde, the opportunity goes beyond winning another game. A victory would finish a perfect run through Williamsport, avenge Nevada’s heartbreak from one year ago and deliver the state its first Little League World Series championship.

Saturday belonged to the United States champions from Henderson.

Sunday offers something even bigger.

A chance to become champions of the world.

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Championship Game

Mountain Region — Paseo Verde Little League
Henderson, Nevada

vs.

Curaçao Region — Pariba Little League
Willemstad, Curaçao

Sunday, August 30, 2026
3:00 p.m. ET
Howard J. Lamade Stadium — South Williamsport, Pennsylvania
TV: ABC

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