Little League World Series 2012: Breaking Down the Entire Field

The Little League World Series has become a summer tradition. Teams from around the globe converge on Williamsport, Penn. for the chance to win the popular baseball tournament. It's an opportunity for kids to enjoy the spotlight and have a lot of fun.

The event begins with eight United States teams and eight international teams. The two sides are broken down into brackets and the winner of each bracket gets a chance to play for the championship at Lamade Stadium on Aug. 26.

Last year's champions came from the United States West Region. More specifically it was the team from Huntington Beach, Calif. that took home the title after defeating a squad from Japan in the championship game.

Let's take a look at each of this year's teams as they prepare to begin their journey toward winning Little League Baseball's ultimate prize.

Great Lakes Region

Location

New Castle, Indiana

How They Got Here

After going just 2-2 to begin the regional tournament, Indiana was able to find some magic in the knockout rounds with two consecutive one-run victories to reach the LLWS. That includes a victory over top-seeded Wisconsin in the semifinals.

Cayden Smekens led the way both at the plate and on the mound. He complied a 0.67 ERA over three games and hit .588 with at least one hit in every game. He'll have to carry over that terrific two-way play for Indiana's run to continue.

Roster

2: Bryce Huntley

3: Jarred Porter

4: Janson Anderson

5: Blake Burris

6: Cory Murphy

7: Brett Matney

8: Mason Gillis

9: Niah Williamson

12: Bryce Matney

16: Hunter McCubbins

18: Bryce Pinkard

27: Cayden Smekens

Mid-Atlantic Region

Location

Parsippany, New Jersey

How They Got Here

New Jersey used a dominating run through pool play and an easy 9-4 victory over Pennsylvania to reach the finals. The regional title game wasn't nearly as easy, however, as the team barely squeaked by Delaware to advance.

A fourth-inning home run from Bener Uygun was the only run scored in the game, which also featured a shutout by New Jersey pitcher Emil Matti. The team's ace didn't give up a single run in nearly 12 innings during the regional round.

Roster

2: Sarang Amin

4: David Ton

5: Daniel Ruggiero

7: Emil Matti

9: Stephen Scevoli

13: Kyle Phillips

14: Daniel Pico

15: Alex Cavaluzzo

20: Anthony Scannelli

24: Bener Uygun

25: Vincent Prezioso

Midwest Region

Location

Kearney, Nebraska

How They Got Here

Nebraska enters the LLWS on a roll. The team went 4-0 during the group stage thanks to an explosive offense that scored a total of 45 runs. The knockout rounds weren't any different as it picked wins over Missouri and the Dakotas to punch a ticket to Williamsport.

The club for Kearney had a cumulative batting average of .377 during the regional round. That type of balanced offense gives them a great chance to make a deep run, especially if the pitching staff can match that level of effectiveness.

Roster

4: Nate Murray

5: Zane Schmidt

6: Christian Dakan

7: Blake Quintana

8: Mark Herges

9: Jake Gappa

10: Brett Kaiser

15: Jared Wegner

17: Cole Staab

20: Thad Huber

21: Josh Ray

23: Jake Skala

24: Matt Masker

New England Region

Location

Fairfield, Connecticut

How They Got Here

Connecticut enters the LLWS after an undefeated regional round. The team showed its ability to win any type of game with a 1-0 victory over Rhode Island and a 14-0 trouncing of New Hampshire in the regional championship game.

Biagio Paoletta and Will Lucas are the team's dynamic hitting duo. They combined to drive in 29 of Fairfield's 60 runs in regionals thanks in part to three home runs. Lucas was also used as a reliever. He pitched 3.2 scoreless innings.

Roster

3: Matt Clarkin

5: Ryan Meury

6: Michael Ghiorzi

12: Kevin Oricoli

14: Chris Meyers

15: Daniel Kiernan

21: Henry Prestegaard

22: Biagio Paoletta

24: Will Lucas

25: Patrick Steed

27: Matt Kubel

Southeast Region

Location

Goodlettsville, Tennessee

How They Got Here

Warner Robins, Ga. has developed into the dominant team in this region and that's who stood in the way of Goodlettsville in the regional final. A lone run scored by Tennessee in the bottom of the second was enough to win the 1-0 nail-biter.

The team prides itself on balance. Six players had at least four hits during regionals. But when Goodlettsville needs some power, Brock Myers is the player they turn to. He hit two long balls en route to the LLWS.

Roster

2: Seth Marlin

5: Blake Osborne

7: Cole Carter

8: Lorenzo Butler

10: Andrew Snyder

12: Jonathan Seals

13: Justin Smith

14: Luke Brown

15: Collin Oberry

18: Jake Rucker

19: Jayson Brown

22: Ryan Lyle

25: Brock Myers

Southwest Region

Location

San Antonio, Texas

How They Got Here

Texas is so large that it actually had two teams in the regional round. Sure enough, they faced off in the finals for a trip to the LLWS with the team from San Antonio taking down one from Lufkin by a score of 9-0.

Even though the team's offense can hold its own, the real reason San Antonio was able to make it look so easy is a dominant pitching staff. Six pitchers combined to have a 0.46 ERA and teamed up to throw four shutouts in five games. That will be tough to beat.

Roster

4: Ian Anderson

6: Samuel Serchay

7: Mason Moore

8: Jack Scarborough

9: Seth Morrow

10: Grant Gomez

12: Jordan Cardenas

13: Kevin Fleisher

15: Landry Wideman

17: Tyler Vitt

18: Zachary Sanchez

19: Carter Elliott

27: Evan Dunlap

Northwest Region

Location

Gresham, Oregon

How They Got Here

Oregon was lucky to advance to the semifinals after going 2-2 in the first stage, but the team proved anything can happen in a one-and-done scenario. Gresham knocked off a previously unbeaten team from Washington to reach the finals, where it beat Idaho.

Brett Falkner, Tyler Linch and Greg Mehlhaff each had six hits in six games while the pitching staff totaled a 1.76 ERA to earn the surprising berth. They will head to Williamsport with plenty of momentum and nothing to lose after a couple impressive performances.

Roster

2: Devon Bratcher

3: Ezra Samperi

5: Christian Turner

6: Brett Falkner

9: Ethan Rose

13: Ethan Meckel

14: Ethan Marshall

21: Greg Mehlhaff

34: Hunter Hemenway

37: Tyler Pederson

51: Tyler Linch

West Region

Location

Petaluma, California

How They Got Here

Petaluma, which was representing Northern California, advanced through a difficult region with relative ease. The team won all six of its games, including a thrilling 11-9 victory over Hawaii in the championship game, to reach the LLWS.

The one thing California should have working to its advantage in the United States bracket is power. The team slugged seven home runs in regionals, including two apiece from Logan Douglas and Danny Marzo. Instant offense is vital in Williamsport.

Roster

1: Hance Smith

2: James O'Hanlon

3: Austin Paretti

4: Dylan Moore

5: Kempton Brandis

6: Porter Slate

7: Cole Tomei

9: Logan Douglas

12: Danny Marzo

22: Blake Buhrer

24: Andrew White

25: Quinton Gago

26: Bradley Smith

Asia-Pacific Region

Location

Taoyuan, Taiwan

How They Got Here

Taiwan won its pool with a 4-0 record, beating out teams from New Zealand, Hong Kong, Guam and the Philippines. The team received a bit of good fortune when Hong Kong eliminated an unbeaten team from Korea in the semifinals.

In the rematch, Taiwan beat Hong Kong again by a 12-2 score to advance to the LLWS. It didn't score less than five runs in any game and averaged more than 11 runs per game in the tournament, which the country hosted.

Roster

3: Hsin-Hao Tseng

6: Li-Wei Chiang

8: Cheng-Kai Hu

10: Chun-Hsiao Chen

12: Meng-Chun Sung

14: Kai-Chun Lin

15: Yao-Jung Chuang

16: Chieh-En Su

18: Ting-Yu Liu

21: Cheng-Feng Lee

22: Feng Chen

23: Hung-Yz Wu

25: Chun-En Lin

Canada Region

Location

Vancouver, British Columbia

How They Got Here

British Columbia dominated the Canadian competition. The team won its seven qualifying games by an average of more than 10 runs and defeated the Prairies squad 11-1 in the finals to advance. No team came close to knocking them off.

Steven Moretto is one of the best pure power hitters in the tournament with four home runs in regionals. Even though teams would probably like to pitch around him, British Columbia's lineup has too many weapons to do that on a consistent basis.

Roster

2: Carter Kada-Wong

12: Ataru Yamaguchi

13: Matteo Porcellato

14: Cez Paguio

15: Carson Ho

16: Kolby Buljevic

18: Cole Dalla-Zanna

19: Thomas Neal

24: Cortez D'Alessandro

25: Noah Hanson-Stafford

30: Steven Moretto

31: Nicholas Williams

Caribbean Region

Location

Willemstad, Curacao

How They Got Here

After a two-year absence, Curacao returns to the LLWS. Pariba Little League has won the Caribbean region's automatic bid to the tournament in 10 of the 12 years it's been awarded. And even won the championship back in 2004.

Curacao was the only team in region to go undefeated in pool play and continued that hot streak in the semifinals and finals with easy victories. As long as the team's hitters can keep pounding the cover off the ball, Curacao will be a tough out.

Roster

2: Ceddanne Rafaela

3: Ruendy Carolina

7: Railison Bentura

8: Jaeir Janzen

9: Daytan Biegel

10: Jurickson Fecunda

12: Arjun Huerta

13: Christopher Koeiman

14: Richgelon Juliana

15: Mychellon Jansen

17: Siamani Boekhoudt

18: Hermain Habat

19: Mildward Baranco

25: Shendrik Apostel

Europe Region

Location

Ramstein Air Base, Germany

How They Got Here

The German qualifiers actually represent an American Air Force base in the country. The organization last made the LLWS in 2010, but didn't make it out of the group stage with a 1-2 record. The current players hope to fare better this time around.

In one of the most comprehensive qualifying tournaments, the team went 5-0 in pool play to earn the top seed in Group A. It then defeated Lithuania, Ukraine and the Netherlands by a combined score of 24-4 to earn a trip stateside.

Roster

2: Nick Notgrass

3: Jared Mendiola

4: Nathan Kranz

5: Ethan Vincent

6: Ryan Jimenez

7: Jerry VanSickle

12: Tristan Waring

14: Tieran Shoffner

16: Nico DeCosta

17: Kyle Glenn

18: Levi Keltz

24: Justin Wilson

25: Tyler Woodberry

Japan Region

Location

Tokyo, Japan

How They Got Here

There were a total of 16 teams in the Japan tournament, including two from Tokyo. The two-weekend event ended up producing a pair of prominent teams: Tokyo Kitasuna Little League and Matsusaka Little League, who met in the finals.

In the championship game, it was no contest. Tokyo won 11-0 to earn the World Series berth. The Japanese representative has won four LLWS championships since 1999, with the most recent being Tokyo in 2010. They figure to be a strong contender once again.

Roster

1: Shota Hidaka

4: Danji Takahashi

5: Hajime Motegi

6: Yuki Ishizuka

7: Rintaro Hirano

8: Satoru Hoyama

10: Noriatsu Osaka

14: Shun Oshima

15: Takuto Miyashita

17: Ryuji Osada

18: Yuta Ishida

19: Tatsuya Irie

21: Keisuke Kagami

27: Kotaro Kiyomiya

Latin America Region

Location

Aguadulce, Panama

How They Got Here

Aguadulce didn't blow opponents away during Latin American qualifying, but the team kept finding ways to win. Of the team's five victories in regionals, three of them came by a single run, which includes the championship game win over Venezuela.

The group from Aguadulce wasn't even the most impressive Panamanian team in the event, a title which went to Chitre before it was eliminated in the semifinals. But in the end all that matters is wins, not style points, and Aguadulce got the job done.

Roster

1: Daniel Cruz

2: Daniel Fernandez

3: Edgar Victoria

4: Rafael Eysseric

5: Julio Goff

6: Edwin Nieto

7: Luis Velis

8: Daniel Castro

9: Jean Sanchez

10: Edisson Gonzalez

12: James Gonzalez

13: Juan Crisp

14: Carlos Flavio

17: Jordan Agrazal

Mexico Region

Location

Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas

How They Got Here

A total of 33 games were played to determine the Mexican champion. After the dust settled the last team standing was Oriente Little League from Nuevo Laredo. It defeated Santa Catarina Little League in the finals, 10-7.

The team is reliant on its heavy hitters, which produced 21 runs in the opening game and 70 total during the seven-game qualifying run. It will be up to the pitching staff to make those runs hold up against some talented opposing offenses in the international group.

Roster

5: Eduardo Abrego

7: Fernando Benavides

8: Erasmo Gonzalez

9: Joel Turrubiates

10: Ramon Ballina

13: Andres Carrillo

14: Sebastian Cuellar

16: Marcelo Perez

17: Gerardo Moreno

21: Felix Diaz

22: Andres Santos

25: Braulio Paez

26: Omar Cervantes

27: Juan Rodriguez

Middle East-Africa Region

Location

Lugazi, Uganda

How They Got Here

Uganda's qualifying journey got off to a rocky start with a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia. After that the team proceeded to rattle off four straight victories in order to win the LLWS berth. Uganda beat Kuwait in the championship game.

Teams from the region, which isn't known for baseball, haven't had much success in the World Series with a 2-10 record since the first bid was given in 2008. Uganda will look to improve on those results with a strong showing this year.

Roster

1: Tom Anderson

2: Justine Makisimu

3: Stephen Lematia

4: Tonny Okello

5: Fred Ojerku

6: Rolence Okonzi

7: Job Echon

9: Felix Enzama

10: Andrew Namwanjja

12: Ronald Olaa

14: Daniel Alio