Luca Pellegrini fired a one-hitter to lead Fairfield (Conn.) National, representing the Metro Region, to a 1-0 victory over Texas on Wednesday night to cap the first day of Little League Baseball World Series action in South Williamsport, Pa.
Pellegrini and Shane Grawe, the starter for Lamar Little League from Richmond, Texas, representing the Southwest Region, both took no-hitters into the fifth inning. Jimmy Taxiltaridis ended Grawe’s no-hit bid with a leadoff double in the fifth. With one out and Dante Madera on second, Ben Herbst cracked a single to center and Madera slid home just ahead of the tag.
Lucas Sontag opened the bottom of the fifth with a double to break up Pellegrini’s perfect game, but Pellegrini responded by fanning the next three hitters. Texas placed runners on first and third with two outs in the sixth, but Pellegrini struck out Parker Eaton to end the game. He finished with 11 whiffs and one walk.
Grawe went five innings and racked up 11 strikeouts while allowing two hits, two walks and one run. Joseph Miller tossed a scoreless sixth for Texas.
Nevada 16, Illinois 1
Las Vegas’ Summerlin South Little League, representing the Mountain Region, jumped to a 5-0 lead in the second inning and added 11 runs in the sixth to pull away for a first-round victory in the United States double-elimination bracket.
Garrett Gallegos scattered four hits and two walks over five scoreless innings for Nevada. Luke D’Ambrosio and Banks Mossler led Nevada’s 18-hit attack with three safeties apiece while Ethan Robertson drove in three runs.
Clarendon Hills (Ill.) Little League, representing the Great Lakes Region, scored its lone run after a dropped third strike in the sixth inning. Liam Harrigan went 2-for-2 as Illinois produced five singles.
Venezuela 5, Puerto Rico 0
Juan Reyes needed just 74 pitches to deliver a three-hit shutout as Venezuela, representing the Latin America Region, claimed the first win in the International double-elimination bracket.
Reyes struck out nine while allowing three singles and one walk. Samuel Castillo went 2-for-2 with a double and four RBIs for the squad from Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
Sebastian Colon Rivera started for Puerto Rico and gave up three hits, four walks and three runs in 1 1/3 innings. Sebastian Casanova Diaz led off the game with a single, but Puerto Rico’s Yabucoa Little League did not collect its next hit until the fifth.
Panama 7, Australia 2
Anthoni Castillo cracked a two-run homer in the first inning and Panama tacked on five unearned runs in the fourth to collect the first-round victory.
Four Panama pitchers combined for a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Alvis Arauz tossed the first three innings and gave up one hit, one unearned run and two walks while fanning four. Dylan Aguilera went 2-for-2 for the squad representing Vacamonte Little League in Arraijan, Puerto Rico.
Australia first baseman Monica Arcuri, the 24th girl to play in the LLBWS, poked a single to center in the third inning. Starter Braxton Black pitched the first four innings for Brisbane North Region Little League and gave up four hits, seven runs (one earned) and two walks to go with six strikeouts.
