The 2026 Little League World Series continues with another exciting day of action — and a bit of history. On Friday, two different teams threw combined no-hitters, with both teams achieving the feat just a few minutes apart in Williamsport
Davenport Northwest from Davenport, Iowa (representing the Midwest region) started things with a no-hit defeat of Sweetwater Valley of Bonita, California (representing the West). Shortly afterwards, Curaçao representative Pariba pulled off a big win over Joto, Japan’s representative from Tokyo.
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Iowa’s win came largely at the hands of starting pitcher Cooper Thissen. Thissen had a wild game, throwing 15 strikeouts across six innings. He also scored Iowa’s sole run with a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the first — after striking out the side.
But in the top of the sixth, struck trouble: Thissen, who hit 90 pitches thrown, walked two of California’s batters. Anthony Johnson Jr. then stepped in to close out the game, but allowed another walk.
That set up a high-pressure situation for Johnson, with the bases loaded and the game-tying run on third. But the young reliever stayed cool, striking out the next two batters and securing a stunning 1-0 win.
Meanwhile, right next door, Curaçao was pulling off another combined no-no, with the team cruising to a 6-0 win over Japan. Jaymiëll Martina kicked things off by pitching 4 2/3 no-hit innings, striking out seven of 16 batters faced. Reliever Giendry Ryan then closed out the last 1 1/3 innings for a big victory.
Given the double elimination tournament, Friday’s wins lets Iowa and Curaçao advance in the winners’ bracket. Meanwhile, California will move to the elimination bracket and face the Southeast team, from Phenix City, Alabama. Japan will compete against Los Nacionales from the Dominican Republic, which is representing the Caribbean region.
