Juriënsly De Windt hit a bases-loaded double in the top of the fifth inning, three runners scored, and a game Nevada still had a grip on turned into a rout. Curaçao beat Henderson, Nevada, 11-2 on Sunday to win the 2026 Little League World Series, the country’s second title. An estimated 24,844 people watched at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Henderson, which represented the U.S. Mountain region, took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a Maddox Bryan single that drove in Logan Edwards and Michael Kleiner. It was the first time Curaçao had trailed all tournament. Nevada had thought it was ahead even earlier, but a run was wiped out when a throw from the Curaçao catcher ricocheted off an outfielder’s glove and wedged under the left-field padding. The ball was ruled dead and Edwards went back to third.
Curaçao tied it at 2-2 in the third on a Shardijon De Lanoi single, then went ahead 4-2 in the fourth when Jaymiëll Martina doubled to center and drove in two runners.
The fifth inning
The fifth decided it. Steven Felix singled, Jaymiel Antonia doubled and Nathanael Jansen was walked intentionally, which loaded the bases. Edwards, the Nevada pitcher, struck out the next two hitters and looked set to escape. Then he hit De Lanoi with a pitch, making it 5-2, and De Windt cleared the bases to make it 8-2.
Curaçao added two in the sixth. Zha-djir Janga and Giendry Ryan singled, Naeem Angel Coeriel walked, and a wild pitch from Brooks McFarland let Janga score. V-dien Ignacio Lindo bunted to third for a fielder’s choice and another run. Martina scored on a second wild pitch to make it 11-2.
Nevada did not quite quit. Owen Guzman and James Esbar drew one-out walks, Curaçao brought in Felix, and he hit Hudson Cowley to load the bases. Felix then struck out McFarland on a curveball and got Jace Ward to fly out to deep center, ending the game.
Japan takes third
Earlier on Sunday, in the third-place game, Japan beat Hamilton, Ohio, 3-2 on a walk-off. Ohio, from the U.S. Great Lakes region, led 2-0 after Xander Kinkade’s two-run double in the fourth. Japan answered in the sixth with singles from Shinnosuke Ijima and Hiroto Yokote, a run on a Sou Koyama hit, and a bunt from Ayumu Hasegawa that Caiden Trent could not field. Koyama scored the winning run.
A last call for Ravech
ESPN’s Karl Ravech called his final Little League World Series championship, his 20th in a row, a little over a month after the network laid him off. He stayed through the end of the event because the timing made a replacement hard to find. Eduardo Perez, Jessica Mendoza and Todd Frazier presented him with a photo on air. “I’m here because I love the Little League World Series, like so many other people here,” Ravech said. “If I could, I’d call this for the rest of my life. But things change.”
