Coaches consider pitching strategy as Summerlin South heads into Monday’s LLWS game

Summerlin South enters third-round Little League World Series play Monday with a 12-0 postseason record, thanks in part to its explosive ability to put an abundance of runs on the scoreboard.

Though the team’s big bats have produced 67 runs in its five outings since the state tournament, another facet of the game has been just as impressive. Pitching is the real story behind successful squads, as this is where coaches become unsung heroes.

As the Nevada team takes the field at noon Monday to face Southeast champion Irmo, South Carolina (1-0), a silent chess match will be played by the opposing coaches.

It all comes down to the fact that a starting pitcher is limited to 85 pitches in a game before requiring four days off the mound. If he throws below 65 pitches, three days of rest are required and there is a descending scale from there.

And if the starter has to come out, a coach must burn some of his relievers’ pitch count for the week, potentially affecting options in the next game.

“We have a really deep staff,” Summerlin South coach TJ Fechser said. “We don’t rely on just two guys.”

While that’s true, it tends to be even more important in later-round games, when nearly every opponent has big bats that can chase a starter in a single inning.

“I don’t know who we’re going to throw Monday,” Fechser said after Friday’s 5-3 win over Washington’s Bonney Lake/Sumner, which represents the Northwest Region. “There’s a meta-game within each game that I need to digest, and that’s the advantage of having days off. We need to look at our opponents, and we’ll zig and zag.”

Fechser has primarily relied on right-handers Garrett Gallegos and Ethan Robertson, but that’s been the result of remaining in the winners’ bracket where a team plays fewer games. A single loss changes strategy, and the coaches have to consider that possibility each time they send a pitcher to the mound.

Wise pitching staff management is on every coach’s mind. Summerlin South’s light winners’ bracket schedule has helped the coaching staff minimize those concerns, but that could change in a hurry.

Luke D’Ambrosio, Cache Malan, Jayden Lee and possibly others know they are likely to see more action before the tourney is over, and reserve pitchers in the opposing dugout know the same.

But most important, Gallegos will be available Monday, and Robertson — who pitched a complete-game gem in Friday’s victory — will regain eligibility Wednesday.

There are unlimited pitching scenarios involved in the team’s coming week, so Fechser hopes to simplify things by producing two more consecutive victories. That would put Summerlin South in the U.S. bracket championship game.

Knowing its next opponent scored 13 runs in its first game, the team attempted to avoid such stressful considerations over the weekend while taking part in several planned events.

On Sunday, the boys attended the 2025 MLB Little League Baseball Classic, a game between the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners at Classic Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, preceded by a meet-and-greet with some of the professional players in attendance.

“I’m just relieved we don’t have to play Sunday,” Fechser said before the game. “That way we get to enjoy.”

But it’s back to the grind Monday, and Fechser believes his pitching staff will be ready.

The LLWS runs through Aug. 24, when the winner of the international championship will be crowned.

Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.