Little League World Series 2016: US, International Scores and Updated Bracket

The penultimate day of the 2016 Little League World Series featured the championship games in both the United States and international brackets on Saturday. The winners will face off Sunday afternoon for the coveted tournament title. 

Latin America and the U.S. Mid-Atlantic each reached the regional championship contests without losing a game in the modified double-elimination event. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific and the U.S. Southeast were forced to survive the one-loss bracket to reach the semifinals.

Let's check out all of the key details from Saturday's games, which will get updated following the United States title clash. That's followed by a recap of the action from Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Saturday's Schedule and Results

Championship	Matchup	Result/Time (ET)
International	Asia-Pacific vs. Latin America	7-2 AP
United States	Southeast vs. Mid-Atlantic	4-2 MA

International: Asia-Pacific vs. Latin America

Asia-Pacific (East Seoul Little League; South Korea) smashed three homers and scored seven runs to avenge a prior defeat at the hands of Latin America (Aguadulce Cabezera Little League; Panama) and earn a place in the World Championship Game.

South Korea broke things open with a five-run second inning that featured home runs by Seum Kwon and Jaekyeong Kim. Wontae Cho added another long ball in the third to stretch the lead to six, and the representatives from East Seoul never looked back.

Baseball Tonight showcased some of that power:

"

South Korea using the long ball in the International Championship! https://t.co/TpNpEOQGYA

— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) August 27, 2016"

Youbin Choi made sure Panama could never mount a comeback. The Asia-Pacific starter went the distance, giving up just six hits and two earned runs while striking out 14. And only one of the hits he allowed went for extra bases.

Carlos Gonzalez was the only hitter to get a strong read on Choi for Panama, which will play in Sunday's consolation game against Tennessee. Gonzalez had hits in all three of his at-bats, but it wasn't enough to spark a rally for Latin America.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted South Korea's success on the globe stage:

Looking ahead, South Korea will attempt to capture its fourth Little League World Series championship. The country's most recent triumph came in 2014, and it previously won back-to-back titles in 1984 and 1985.

The team's pitching has remained strong throughout the event. The staff hasn't allowed more than three runs in any game and has racked up three shutouts. So the onus is on the offense to take care of the rest, and it's done exactly that since the loss to Panama in the third round.

United States: Southeast vs. Mid-Atlantic

Michael Mancini pitched a gem as the Mid-Atlantic (Maine-Endwell Little League; New York) survived a late rally by the Southeast (Goodlettsville Baseball Little League; Tennessee) to capture the U.S. title.

Mancini was nearly unhittable for most of the afternoon as he struck out 11 batters and allowed just one hit in 4.2 scoreless innings for New York. Jude Abbadessa came on to get the last four outs and, while he did give up two runs, he came up big to get the outs he needed to close it out.

Baseball Tonight showcased the starter's early success, which continued all day:

"

New York's Michael Mancini  6 outs, 6 strikeouts. #LLWS https://t.co/jnzuTFZZuO

— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) August 27, 2016"

The Mid-Atlantic got all of the offense it needed in the fourth inning. Billy Dundon came off the bench to deliver the key hit, a two-run single as part of a four-run frame. Jack Hopko and James Fellows also drove in runs for the winning side.

Full credit to the Southeast for fighting until the last out. Zach McWilliams hit a two-run shot with two outs in the final frame to close the gap. Tennessee couldn't keep the rally alive, however, as it suffered its second defeat to New York in the tournament.

Little League spotlighted the Mid-Atlantic celebration:

New York heads to the World Championship Game as the only undefeated club level in the event. It's shown it can win any type of game, too. It won a shootout with Kentucky, 13-10, and a prior pitchers' duel with Tennessee, 3-1.

South Korea is riding a wave of momentum of its own right now, though. It seems like being pushed to the brink of elimination has brought the best out of the team. So New York will need another strong performance on the mound in order to keep the crown in the United States.