WHITESTOWN, Ind. — Boone Treadway stood on the mound with six runs behind him and an entire city waiting back home.
The West Side Little League right-hander made sure there would be no suspense about where Hamilton was headed next.
Treadway fired a complete-game one-hitter, and West Side erupted for six runs in the first inning Wednesday night, Aug. 12, to beat North Oldham, Kentucky, 6-0 in the Great Lakes Region championship game at the Little League Central Region Complex.
The victory sends one of Ohio’s most decorated Little League programs back to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the sixth time in its history and the first since its memorable run to the LLWS championship game in 2021.
“It’s crazy that this will be my fifth time going there, going all the way back to 1991 with my dad Ray,” West Side manager Tim Nichting said. “But wow, it’s just a great feeling to make 12-year-old kids, I think, live part of their dream. For a 12-year-old, this is definitely a dream. And for an old man, it ain’t a bad dream either.”
West Side will open Little League World Series play against the Mountain Region champion at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20.
Hamilton previously reached Williamsport in 1991, 1993, 2007, 2010 and 2021. Nichting was part of the first two trips alongside his father, Ray, before leading the 2007 and 2010 teams. West Side’s official history credits Ray Nichting with leading the 1991 and 1993 teams and notes that Tim began coaching alongside his father in 1983.
The program’s most successful trip came in 2021, when West Side won five games in Williamsport, captured the Tom Seaver bracket and became the first Ohio team to reach the Little League World Series championship game before falling 5-2 to Taylor North, Michigan.
Five years later, another West Side team is headed there.
And Treadway is just one of many who helped make it happen.
“I felt good in the first inning,” Treadway said. “Same for the rest. My defense had my back.”
Asked if he knew he could finish the game on the mound, Treadway didn’t hesitate.
“Yes,” he smiled. “No doubt.”
West Side gave its pitcher all the offense he needed almost immediately.
Josiah Infante delivered a home run, then Finn Dykes came to the plate with the bases loaded and ripped a three-run triple that stretched the advantage to 6-0.
“Finn, he’s another one of them that you asked about improvement,” Nichting said. “What a big moment. Bases loaded, triple — boom, put us at six. I had a little breathing room.”
Then Treadway took over.
North Oldham never found an answer against the right-hander, who continued a dominant regional tournament that Nichting said elevated Treadway into West Side’s go-to player. Treadway struck out nine Kentucky batters and only threw 62 pitches — 48 of them strikes.
“Boone became the guy here, I think,” Nichting said. “At state, Boone was all right. He pitched well. Didn’t hit great, but did all right. But Boone was the guy here. And the lights were on him. Man, the lights were on him.”
That progression mirrored West Side’s run through Whitestown.
The Hamilton club opened regional play with a 10-4 victory over Greater Bay, Michigan, then overwhelmed Jasper National, Indiana, 11-0 in four innings. West Side followed with an 11-4 victory over North Oldham to advance directly to Wednesday’s championship game.
“This feels amazing,” Treadway said. “These guys are great kids. … We’re just happy to go to Williamsport.”
West Side captured its 23rd Ohio championship this summer. The program had also won 40 consecutive District 9 championships through 2025.
West Side’s success has once again extended well beyond the fences of its ballpark.
Watch parties formed around Hamilton during the regional tournament, something that also happened during West Side’s 2021 World Series run, when local establishments filled with fans following the team.
Nichting, a lifelong Hamilton resident whose connection to West Side stretches back more than four decades, understands what that support means.
“It’s a great feeling,” Nichting said. “I’ve lived in Hamilton my whole life. I’ve pretty much done West Side Little League my whole life. And to hit the top of the chart is awesome.
“I hear all this about everybody going to Shooters or wherever. It’s a madhouse. It’s just a great feeling. This is my fifth one, but it’s still as great as any of them. Just very proud of the kids and Hamilton.”
Treadway has noticed the attention, too.
“It feels like I’m a superstar,” he said. “All these people know who we are now.”