Hamilton’s West Side Little League honored after national record sixth appearance at Little League World Series

Labor Day 2026 in Hamilton: Hardly a cloud in the sky and a humid heat hovering around the 80-85 degree mark.

Sirens whooped and wailed through the town’s main street. Adults and kids dressed in blue, white and orange jerseys donning the name “Great Lakes” across the front were scattered down the drag, waiting to cheer on their favorite athletes of the summer. 

Corvettes, seventeen in number (and one Nissan Altima at the back), waited patiently as their police escorts paved the way.

Then, it began. 

The cars leisurely rolled one by one with fans clapping, cheering and waving their hands at the passing celebration. The occupants of the cars? The 11- and 12-year-olds of Hamilton’s West Side Little League team, taking everything in.

“They’re all going to think they’re still the coolest thing in the world,” said Timothy Nichting, West Side manager and 2026 Ohio Sports Hall of Fame inductee, before the festivities began. “A parade for them? Yeah, they’re going to thoroughly enjoy it. They’ve had a lot of spotlight on them … It will be a neat little deal for them.”

Long before the Labor Day event kicked off, the 12-player Hamilton roster and coaches set out on their journey to reach the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. 

They began their quest with a 4-0 record in the Great Lakes region tournament, defeating teams from Michigan, Indiana and finally Kentucky, once in round-robin play and the final, punching their ticket to the big stage.

However, the welcome to Williamsport wasn’t as glamorous on the field as the team may have wanted. 

A heartbreaking 6-5 loss in their first game of the tournament set the stage for what could have been ultimate disappointment. One more loss would send players, coaches and families packing. 

However, the West Side Little League team would not go down without a fight. 

Following the opening game loss, the Hamilton team went on to win five straight elimination games. They outscored their opponents 39-6 during the run and made it to the United States championship game, playing Nevada once more.

The unprecedented run through the tournament gave Hamilton Mayor Pat Moeller all the content he needed for his speech at Hamilton’s Marcum Park amphitheater. 

“The Massachusetts Little League organization, the Texas Little League organization folks, the New Jersey Little League folks, including (former MLB player and Cincinnati Red) Todd Frazier, the Alabama Little League folks and the Iowa Little League folks will never forget the 2026 team that we have here,” Moeller said. “You impressed ESPN so much that you weren’t just the Ohio team; you were the Hamilton, Ohio team.” 

During their run, it was names such as Boone Treadway, Walker Osborne and Josiah Infante who led the way among other contributors. Treadway set a record for walks in the Little League World Series with 10 as the team’s lead-off hitter, while Osborne finished with an on-base percentage of .667 and Infante allowed just two runs through his first five innings on the mound. 

The tournament also made way for individual benchmark plays that will live with fans and players alike, such as Bob Frazier and Finn Dykes’ bases-loaded consecutive RBI hits to add on insurance runs against Alabama. Then, there was Frazier’s bases-loaded triple to put Hamilton up 4-0 on Iowa in the following game. 

The Iowa game’s timing threw everyone off, as it was slated for 9 a.m. ET, a far cry from the usual afternoon starts. But that didn’t stop the loyal city members from tuning in, including the mayor.

“Back home at Gina’s (Italian Kitchen), Shooters (Sports Grill) and 513, every restaurant that had a TV, our eyes and spirit were cheering you guys on,” Moeller said to the team. “Now, that nine o’clock in the morning game missed a third of our schedules. I was actually in a courtroom at 10; I ran out of that courtroom looking for an open restaurant, and I watched the game in a Kroger.”

In their second fixture against Nevada at Williamsport, this time in the United States championship game, the score was not as close as the first game. 

A walk-off single by Nevada’s Maddox Bryan forced a run rule loss for Hamilton by a score of 12-2. 

In their final game of the tournament, the consolation game against Team Japan, West Side Little League lost just as they did when they got to Williamsport: by one run.

Hamilton finished fourth overall in the tournament, but the team made their coaches and city proud. 

“To win five (elimination) games in a row, I think that got the whole area hopping,” Nichting said. “I think it got the whole Hamilton, Fairfield and even Cincinnati area hopping. (They were) just feeding off what we were doing.”

In Williamsport, the Great Lakes team was the only one to sell out of all the merchandise, and back home, hundreds of fans showed up to Marcum Park to cheer on their hometown kids.

The ceremony began with the players and coaches walking on stage and, along with the speech from the mayor, were honored with individualized proclamations from the city signed by six different city council members. 

After their names were called by Greg Hudson, a former WWE announcer and 1997 Hamilton High School graduate , and walk-up songs were played, Hudson asked questions about each player’s favorite memories or other fun stories from the trip, with varying responses.

Infielder and pitcher Leo Feltner gave some insight as to what happened between games off the field, drawing some laughs from the crowd on hand.

“We usually just played ping pong or in the game room,” Feltner said. “There were like five PS5s lined up.”

Outfielder Zach Hilton said a memory that will stick with him about Williamsport is his dad, Chris Hilton, coaching him. After outfielder and pitcher Jack McAdams said there wasn’t any food he enjoyed during the tournament, which came with laughs from the crowd, he mentioned his favorite part was hanging out with the international teams, especially the kids from the Czech Republic.

All of the speakers following the kids were adults integral to the West Side program. The coaches and a couple of parents were brief with the microphone, but “thank-yous” were abundant. The most prominent topic, though, was the impact that the West Side Little League program has had on the community.

“Kids get born in Hamilton and come out of the womb dreaming about what Little League team they’re going to play for and playing in the Little League World Series,” Boone Treadway’s father, Brian Treadway, said.

The event ended with the team gathering together and hearing from their coaches. Standing in a tight circle, within which the message could only be heard by those in uniform, the Hamilton team listened eagerly to their coach’s final words. No one outside the huddle heard or saw anything other than lips moving and heads nodding. And finally, hands and arms moved to the middle with fists raised.

“Hamilton on three! One, two, three, Hamilton!”

The huddle broke, and the players dispersed to find their families.

Making the Little League World Series is not an easy task. But for those who have been around to see what the West Side Little League program has grown into, it’s hard not to be amazed by its impact.

“Surreal is a good word,” Nichting said. “I was just a young, punk kid when I started up with my dad in 1983. And to sit there and say I’ve been in that program pretty much ever since, it’s crazy. And to do what we just did and have that be the sixth team our league has done that, and I’ve done it five times, it’s all surreal and as neat as can be. I always say Williamsport is where kids’ dreams come true, and it’s a great feeling to get kids there.”