The champs: Paseo Verde Little League punches ticket to Williamsport

A baseball team from Henderson will be playing in the Little World Series for the second straight season.

This time, it’s Paseo Verde Little League.

Paseo Verde won Little League’s Mountain Region championship this afternoon with a 2-0 victory against Dixie of Utah in San Bernardino, Calif. The game was televised on ESPN2.

The national audience saw Wyatt Erickson put on a show, throwing a no-hitter to lead his team of children ages 11-13 to Williamsport, Pa. The tournament starts Wednesday.

Erickson’s pitching was so strong that he started trending on the social media platform X.

“WYATT ERICKSON THROWS A NO-HITTER TO SEND NEVADA TO THE LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES,” ESPN posted to its 53 million followers.

Paseo Verde got on the board early when they had runners on first and third in the first inning. Noah Letalu popped a hit into left field to get the third-base runner home.

The team added a second score the next inning, when again Paseo Verde had a runner on third. Utah's second baseman had trouble fielding a bouncing ball, managing to get the hitter out at first but allowing the runner to score.

The team is coached by Adam Johnson, the assistant equipment manager for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders’ Maxx Crosby posted a video — while wearing a Paseo shirt — earlier in the tournament to encourage the team.

They finished 4-1 in the event, only losing to Montana in pool play.

Henderson Little League last summer became the second Nevada team to reach Williamsport. And the city treated them like royalty, throwing a parade on Water Street when they returned and placing posters of the children near street signs throughout town.

"How about the state of Nevada going back to back to Williamsport?" the ESPN announcers asked.

Mountain Ridge Little League of northwest Las Vegas in 2014 became the first Nevada team to reach the event. It’s grown in popularity over the years with the ESPN family on networks televising the games.

The series runs through Aug. 25 to give the Paseo Verde players another prize — missing school. The Clark County School District returns to classes Monday.