Little League World Series 2023: Thursday Schedule, TV Info and Bracket Predictions

The 2023 Little League World Series kicked off Wednesday in Williamsport and it did not take long for fans to decipher which teams may be championship contenders.

Rhode Island and Panama were dominant in their victories over Nevada and the Czech Republic, respectively, while Japan and Texas narrowly knocked off Cuba and home-state heroes Pennsylvania in the afternoon games.

The first round continues Thursday with four more games, one of which features the first step in Curaçao's redemption story.

Find out who they match up with, what time, and where to watch the slate of games with this preview of the day's action.

Wednesday Results

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Needville, Texas' Corbin Riddle celebrates as he returns to the dugout after scoring on a single by Easton Ondruch off Media, Pa.'s Austin Crowley during the fourth inning of a baseball game at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa., Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Wednesday Scores

Panama def. Czech Republic (4-0)

Rhode Island def. Nevada (3-1)

Japan def. Cuba (1-0)

Texas def. Pennsylvania (2-1)

Thursday Schedule, Predictions, TV Info

AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar

The Caribbean Region champion Little League team from Willemstad, Curacao, participates in the opening ceremony of the 2023 Little League World Series tournament in South Williamsport, Pa., Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)

All times Eastern Standard Time

August 17

Caribbean (Willemstad, Curaçao) vs. Australia (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) (1:00 p.m., ESPN, prediction: Caribbean)

Northwest (Seattle, Washington) vs. New England (Gray, Maine) (3:00 p.m., ESPN, prediction: Northwest)

Canada (Regina, Saskatchewan) vs. Asia-Pacific (Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei) (5:00 p.m., ESPN, prediction: Asia-Pacific)

West (El Segundo, California) vs. Great Lakes (New Albany, Ohio) (7:00 p.m., ESPN, prediction: West)

Thursday Preview

AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar

The Asia-Pacific Region champion Little League team from Taoyuan, Taiwan, participates in the opening ceremony of the 2023 Little League World Series tournament in South Williamsport, Pa., Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)

Smithfield, Rhode Island picked up its first win of this Little League World Series, defeating Henderson, Nevada Wednesday by a score of 3-1. Steady bats and great defense were aided by the play of 12-year-old Connor Curtis, who turned in the best performance of the day.

Curtis struck out 15 of 16 batters, shutting down Nevada's offense. He was brilliant on the mound, a dominant pitcher in a tournament that, at least through the regional competition, had been all about scoring runs.

The young pitcher set the tone for the first day of action in Williamsport and Thursday, the reigning International champs make their first appearance here in 2023 as Curaçao take on Australia to open up the day's festivities.

It is the first game in a redemption tour for a team that impressed fans all the way to the championship game a season ago, where they lost to Hawaii.

Also in international action, Chinese Taipei plays its first game of the tournament against Canada. The team out of Regina, Saskatchewan will have its hands full as the Asia-Pacific representative exploded for 70 runs in regional competition and looked like an absolute buzzsaw offensively throughout.

This is a different tournament now, though, and the competition is far better than what Chinese Taipei saw early. Whether that can halt their bats will be one thing to keep an eye on Thursday afternoon.