SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Gunnar Gaudin has two signatures under the brim of his hat: that of New York Yankees outfielder Jazz Chisholm and his own.

“I don’t want to brag,” said Gunnar, “but I feel like I’m famous.”

When you strike out five batters and don’t allow a walk, you’re bound to feel that way. Gunnar threw a complete game as Nevada beat Hawaii 3-2 in the Little League World Series on Monday.

Nevada, representing the Mountain Region – created in 2022 when the LLWS expanded to 20 teams – is one of two undefeated and impressive clubs on the U.S. side of the standings. The other is Texas, which beat Florida 4-1 on Monday night. The undefeated teams will face off on Wednesday, with the winner moving on to the semifinals.

“I was ready to throw and they gave me the ball,” Gunnar said after Nevada’s win. “I was really excited about what I could do and I felt like I did it and we got a good result.”

Paseo Verde, which represents Henderson near Las Vegas, waited three days after its opening win over New York in the Little League World Series, and its players seemed eager to get back on the field.

The game was tied 2-2 when Nevada went to bat in the sixth inning, the final inning of Little League play. Two batters walked and advanced on a sacrifice bunt. When Wyatt Erickson was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded and Noah Letalu was up. After a teammate got a strikeout, he knew exactly what he had to do.

“I can’t go to bat and try to hit a grand slam with the whole team on my shoulders,” Noah said. “I probably would have hit at balls in the dirt, but I knew I had to score a run for my team and in that situation, a walk was just as important as a hit.”

Noah drew the game’s sixth walk from Central East Maui’s pitchers to bring home the winning run, and Nevada went on to defeat the Hawaii team representing the West, the region that has won the last two LLWS titles.

Catcher Parker Soranaka initiated a strikeout-throw-out double play that ended the game.

“That’s something we pride ourselves on. We tell our pitchers, ‘Let our defense work, let’s play behind them,'” said manager Adam Johnson, whose team allowed nine hits.

On Sunday, the team arrived at Williamsport Regional Airport in time for the Yankees’ arrival ahead of the MLB Little League Classic against the Detroit Tigers. Chisholm, who is currently on the injured list, took a special interest in the Mountain Region team and later sat with them in the stands at Bowman Field.

“(Chisholm) believes in youth baseball and he believes in this group,” Johnson said. “There was an instant connection between those guys and him when they asked questions, and to see him interact with them, I think, was special.”

Chisholm may be the team’s big brother, but the squad is already a family that shares the dream of playing in the LLWS.

“The coolest thing for me as a coach is to see them embrace the team spirit because I feel like we wouldn’t be here if we had selfish players,” Johnson said.

Next, they’ll have to give their best against Texas. The Southwest Regional representative from Boerne, a suburb of San Antonio, beat Florida thanks to star player Julian Hurst, who pitched a complete game and had 10 strikeouts.

Julian will not be available to pitch against Nevada because he does not get enough rest under Little League rules, but manager Justin Newson was not worried.

“Our goal is to win the game today. We’re not playing for tomorrow,” Newson said. “I feel like a lot of teams have let up a little bit over the course of this tournament and we don’t believe that.”

Julian allowed just three hits and no walks for the Lake Mary, Florida-based team and threw 72% of his pitches as strikes.

“He really attacks the zone, really attacks the batters,” Newson said. “We don’t try to pitch around too many, if anyone, and I think that shows in the strike percentage and the strikeouts.”

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Amanda Vogt is a student at Penn State’s John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.