Davenport Northwest Little League turned a tight Friday game into a ticket to the next round of four teams, edging California 1-0 in the Little League World Series. The win came with a combined no-hitter, and Cooper Thissen did the heavy lifting on the mound, throwing 5 1/3 innings without allowing a hit.
The lone run came in the first inning, which was all Davenport Northwest needed to stay in front the rest of the way. It was the kind of game that leaves no margin for error: one run, no hits allowed and a defense that had to protect both from start to finish.
That is what makes the result matter today. Davenport Northwest is still alive, and the team now moves into the next round after a game that was decided quickly and then locked down for good. California was held to no runs and no hits, but the score alone does not tell the full story because the no-hit effort was shared and the rest of that pitching work was not detailed.
What comes next is already set in time, even if the matchup is not. Davenport Northwest will play at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, Aug. 23, with the opponent still to be determined. After a 1-0 win built on one early run and a no-hitter, the only thing left open is who gets the next chance to try to slow them down.
