WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — When it was over Tuesday, when the Little League World Series dream ended for the Henderson All-Stars, Ryan Gifford tried putting things in perspective.
He got emotional doing so.
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“At some point, everything must come to an end, right?” said Gifford, the team’s manager, who paused before continuing. “I couldn’t be prouder of these boys. Great kids, great families, great baseball.”
Henderson was eliminated 2-1 by the Southeast Region champion from Nolensville, Tennessee, at Lamade Stadium.
It was eliminated by one of the bracket’s best teams and because Tennessee had a pitcher named Lucas McCauley. He was terrific. Henderson managed just two hits.
It would counter with ace Nolan Gifford, who was impressive himself in throwing a five-hitter. But a fly-ball double led to one Tennessee run and a passed ball scored another.
That’s all McCauley, who struck out seven of nine to begin the game and 12 overall, needed.
It happens. It’s baseball.
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“(McCauley) was really good,” Nolan Gifford said. “To hold us to two hits …”
Opposing pitching
Henderson was the second team in Nevada history to qualify for the LLWS, following Mountain Ridge in 2014. And when Henderson looks back on its time here, it will know that its two losses came against stellar pitching.
It first encountered Connor Curtis and his 15 strikeouts in a 3-1 loss to the Metro Region champion from Smithfield, Rhode Island. Now, it was McCauley’s turn to handcuff the Henderson hitters.
Henderson cut the deficit to 2-1 in the fifth inning on a double from Cruz Lester and a one-out infield single from Gifford. But then McCauley struck out the next two batters and set Henderson down in order in the sixth.
“(McCauley) was just hitting his spots against us,” Lester said. “He was good. It was a great experience, being able to play in (Lamade Stadium), on that field. It was also really cool to represent Henderson.”
It will now produce a lifetime of memories for the Henderson players and coaches and their families. Just like with Mountain Ridge, this stuff is tough to shake. It’s that special a place, that unique a journey.
“It was amazing,” Henderson first baseman Jaxson McMullin said. “You watch it on TV, but it’s a lot better in real life. The coolest part was interacting with all the players from different places in the world, learning how to (communicate) with them.
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“Our two losses were only by a total of three runs. I thought we played really well.”
Great support
The team comes from an area in which others rallied behind it, such as the Raiders and Golden Knights and even the Oakland Athletics donating thousands of dollars, of Henderson businesses doing the same. The support, Ryan Gifford said, was beyond what he and his team could have imagined.
But it was the same way with Mountain Ridge. Las Vegas has twice now given its best to 12-year-olds advancing to the mecca of Little League. Twice gotten behind teams that have played this far into the summer.
It’s tough to put into words, but Ryan Gifford tried. Like with Mountain Ridge manager Ashton Cave nine years ago, he understood how big the moment was and yet how best to keep it fun for his players. He, like Cave, got it.
“When we started this thing back in May, we knew we were pretty good,” said Gifford, born and raised in Henderson. “To be one of the final six teams in the (United States) playing — we definitely exceeded our expectations. It was an amazing run. We’ll take this with us forever.
“My message to the kids was to keep their heads up, keep working, keep battling, keep getting better every day. I love these kids, and I’m very grateful for having the opportunity to have done this with them. I’m very proud how they represented the state of Nevada.”
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
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