Little League World Series openers don't usually need a disclaimer, but this one does: Iowa's Davenport Northwest team no-hit Sweetwater Valley of Bonita, California, and still needed a game-ending call nobody in green and gold will apologize for.
The recap of the combined no-hitter -- 18 outs, 17 of them strikeouts -- with the final line score on screen.
Cooper Thissin was the story before the ending even happened. He went 5 1/3 innings of no-hit ball with 15 strikeouts and, just to make sure Iowa had a run to protect, hit the game's only homer himself. Anthony Johnson Jr. came on to finish it, and by the time the dust settled 17 of the 18 outs Iowa recorded had come via strikeout -- as dominant a pitching performance as you'll see out of Williamsport this summer.
Thissin on the mound mid-windup, with the opening-round scoreboard still reading 0-0, followed by his postgame video-board interview.
The finish is what's actually got people fired up. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, California worked a full count -- a walk there ties the game and gives them a real shot. Instead, the home plate umpire rang up strike 3 on a pitch that, by the replay everyone immediately started passing around, looked well outside. There's no challenge system at the Little League World Series, so the call simply stood and the no-hitter -- and the win -- were locked in on the spot.
The check-swing/strike-3 appeal that ended the game, with the scoreboard showing California 0, Iowa 1 in the bottom of the 6th.
Reaction split about how you'd expect for a call like that. Some fans wanted the batter to protect the plate better with two strikes; others didn't care, insisting the pitch simply wasn't a strike no matter the situation. Return_Of_RB tried to have it both ways, arguing the hitter should've defended the zone while also admitting the pitch was a ball "7/7 days".
Both can be true. He should protect but it’s a ball 7/7 days pal
Controversy aside, this is a genuinely big moment for Davenport Northwest, which hadn't made it back to Williamsport since 2005. A combined no-hitter to open your World Series run -- with your own pitcher supplying the only run himself -- is the kind of story that gets remembered regardless of how the last pitch looked on replay. Iowa moves on to face the winner of the Pennsylvania-New Jersey game, and after this debut, nobody in that bracket is looking forward to facing Thissin and company.