Iowa's Cooper Thissin no-hits California, then ump ends it

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.

Barstool Baseball

@StoolBaseball

Iowa throws the combined no-hitter! 18 outs 17 Ks from the Iowa staff (Ump had lunch plans and wanted to leave, awful strike 3 call)

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.

Rico Bo$co

@Return_Of_RB

Cooper Thissin was a LLWS Legend today. 15 K’s in 5 and 1/3rd of no hit ball and the games only homer to give his team a 1-0 win. Absolute beast

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.

Rico Bo$co

@Return_Of_RB

LAUGHABLE CALL @LittleLeague !!!!

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".

Rico Bo$co

@Return_Of_RB

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.