Hamilton, Ohio's West Side Little League team is just one game away from the Little League World Series once again.
West Side will have a rematch with Kentucky's North Oldham in the Great Lakes Region championship game at 7 p.m. Aug. 12, broadcast live on ESPN2. When the two teams met on Aug. 10, West Side won 11-4.
Ohio's representatives in the Great Lakes Region, West Side rolled in lopsided wins against Michigan and Indiana in the first two rounds of the tournament. In the semifinals against North Oldham, it found itself in a 3-1 deficit after one inning. From that point forward, West Side's offense caught fire, scoring nine runs in the second to take control of the game.
North Oldham put West Side in good position with a walk and a wild pitch,
bringing home runs. Boone Treadway, the son of Badin head coach Brion Treadway, hit a triple to score two more runs. Leo Feltner and Josiah Infante each contributed RBI doubles, and Xander Kinkade ended the scoring run with a two-run homer.
Bryson Williams closed out the game on the mound. He put North Oldham away in 3.2 innings, allowing just two hits and a run while striking out two.
North Oldham clawed out of the elimination bracket with an 8-5 win over Jasper National (Indiana) on Aug. 11. Indiana took a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning, but weather delays put the game on hold. When play resumed, Kentucky scored seven runs in two innings to put the game out of reach.
West Side was in a similar position a year ago. After blowing out Illinois earlier in the bracket, West Side lost in the championship game rematch. West Side, a 23-time Ohio state champion, hasn't been to the Little League World Series since 2021. That season, it marched all the way to the finals before losing to Michigan.
Boone Treadway is West Side's starting pitcher in the championship game. In his last outing he threw 2.2 scoreless innings against Indiana, striking out six.
The 2026 Little League World Series begins on Wednesday, Aug. 19, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The winner of the Great Lakes Region will face the Mountain Region champion at 2 p.m. on Aug. 20.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hamilton Little League playing for trip to LLWS on ESPN2
