South Williamsport, PA – Nevada’s Garrett Gallegos homered and pitched five strong innings to lead his team to an 8-2 victory over Connecticut in Saturday’s Little League World Series semifinal, securing a championship matchup against Taiwan.
The Las Vegas squad is vying for Nevada’s first Little League title, while Taiwan aims for its first championship since 1996 and its 18th overall, having fallen to Florida in last year’s final. The two teams will meet Sunday for the title at Lamade Stadium.
Gallegos hit a first-pitch home run in the fourth inning, and teammate Jayden Lee celebrated by lifting his helmet off, as fans chanted his name. Earlier, Grayson Miranda contributed to Nevada’s three-run first inning, battling through a 0-2 count on his 12th pitch to drive in two runs with a single.
Connecticut cut the lead to 4-2 in the fifth inning, but Nevada’s Garrett Gallegos struck out his eighth batter, preventing further damage. Cutter Ricafort added a two-run single in the sixth, extending Nevada’s lead and cementing the win.
In the international semifinal, Taiwan edged Aruba 1-0. Pitcher Liu Wei-Heng delivered 5⅓ innings, allowing four hits and striking out seven, while Chen Shi-Hong scored the game’s only run. Aruba threatened in the final inning, but a strikeout by Chen Qi-Sheng ended the game. Taiwan plans to start Lin Chin-Tse, capable of throwing 80 mph, in the championship final.
The tournament also highlighted youth sports initiatives. The Aspen Institute and Little League promoted the ESPN Take Back Sports program to increase youth sports participation to 63% by 2030, up from the current 55%, emphasizing that every child has a right to play.
