Controversial, game-changing strike 3 call ends Little League World Series no-hitter

After getting washed out on Thursday, the Little League World Series has resumed with a full day of action in Williamsport. Iowa and California kicked things off with an instant classic in the morning—one that ended with some history and some drama.

After Iowa’s Cooper Thissen continued his dominance in the tournament by racking up another 15 strikeouts, Anthony Johnson Jr. came in to try to secure the game’s final outs and complete a combined no-hitter. California mounted a resistance, loading the bases with two outs.

MORE: 2026 Little League World Series teams, full list of USA & International participants

Then, on a 3-2 pitch that appeared to be quite a bit outside, the home plate umpire ended proceedings by ruling a dramatic strike three to end the contest.

With the full understanding that Little League umpires are the salt of the Earth and wonderful volunteers, take a gander at the decision below.

That is a very tough way to lose a game. To state the obvious, a ball four here would have tied things up and given California a golden opportunity to take the lead.

There is no ABS Challenge system at the Little League World Series and there probably shouldn’t be. But this is just so rough. Great take from the batter there after grinding out an at-bat and it all goes for naught.

Thankfully for California, this is just an opening round game and they won’t have to walk into elimination after such a controversial decision.

• 9:00 a.m. LLBWS Game 5: Australia vs. Mexico, ESPN app
• 9:00 a.m. LLBWS Game 6: Great Lakes (Hamilton, OH) vs. Mountain (Henderson, NV), ESPN app
• 12 p.m. LLBWS Game 7: Curacao vs. Japan, ESPNU
• 12 p.m. LLBWS Game 8: West (Bonita, CA) vs. Midwest (Davenport, IA), ESPN
• 3:00 p.m. LLBWS Game 9: Panama vs. Latin America (Nicaragua), ESPN2
• 3:00 p.m. LLBWS Game 10: Southwest (Boerne, TX) vs. Northwest (Tacoma, WA), ESPN
• 6:00 p.m. LLBWS Game 11: Europe & Africa (Czech Republic) vs. Asia-Pacific (South Korea), ESPNU
• 7:00 p.m. LLBWS Game 12: Mid-Atlantic (West Chester, PA) vs. Metro (Bayonne, NJ), ESPN

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