Little League World Series 2012: Breaking Down Every American Team

Eight American teams and eight international teams will compete in the 2012 Little League World Series beginning on Thursday, and there are plenty of storylines headed into the historic tournament.

Indiana (Great Lakes), New Jersey (Mid-Atlantic), Nebraska (Midwest), Connecticut (New England), Oregon (Northwest), Tennessee (Southeast), Texas West (Southwest) and Northern California (West) will vie for the World Championship on the American side.

Huntington Beach (West) won the LLWS last year, defeating Japan 2-1.

Here's a look at every American team in the Little League World Series this year.

Indiana (Great Lakes)

Indiana scored the fewest points per game (4.6) in the entire Great Lakes regional and tied with Kentucky for the most runs allowed (25), per PointStreakSites.com. 

So how did Indiana win the tournament?

Well, by doing whatever necessary to advance. Indiana only went 2-2 in the opening round, barely moving on to the semifinals, but came away with a 2-1 victory over Wisconsin and a 6-5 victory over Kentucky to win the regional.

It also helps to have Cayden Smekens on your team. Smekens hit .588 in the regionals, tops in the tournament, and added one home run.

Oh yeah, and he also lead the Great Lakes regional with a 0.67 ERA, tossing nine innings of one-run ball, including 18 strikeouts.

New Jersey (Mid-Atlantic)

New Jersey tied with Pennsylvania for the second-most runs in the Mid-Atlantic regional (29) and had the lowest ERA (1.50 earned runs per six innings). The team went 3-1 in the opening round, then beat Pennsylvania 9-4 in the semifinals and Delaware 1-0 in the final.

Daniel Ruggiero and Bener Uygun combined to go 18-for-30 in the regional (.600), while Uygun knocked two past the fences.

Emil Matti was the club's top pitcher, giving up zero earned runs in 11.2 innings while racking up 10 strikeouts.

Nebraska (Midwest)

Nebraska was a dominant offensive club in the Midwest regional, scoring 60 runs in six games—by far the most in the tournament. The pitching was decent (3.09 ERA)—decent enough for Nebraska to go undefeated in the regional and defeat South Dakota in the final 10-4.

Thad Huber was the top hitter for Nebraska, hitting .588 with 12 RBI and eight runs. Jake Skala gave up no runs and just one hit in five innings pitched.

Connecticut (New England)

Connecticut is another high-powered club, equaling Nebraska with 60 runs in six games, including five home runs. The pitching was flat-out dominant, allowing just four earned runs in 34 innings (0.71 ERA).

Catcher Biagio Paoletta hit .556 in the regional with two home runs, 18 RBI, nine runs and a stolen base for good measure. Ryan Meury was the top pitcher in the tournament, allowing no earned runs in 10.1 innings with 21 strikeouts.

Oregon (Northwest)

Oregon racked up the second-most runs in the Northwest regional (32) and gave up just 10 earned runs in 34 innings (1.77 ERA). Although, it is worth noting that Oregon's defense gave up nine unearned runs.

Brett Falkner led the team with a .429 batting average while giving up no earned runs in 8.2 innings and notching nine strikeouts. 

Tennessee (Southeast)

Tennessee averaged 6.6 runs in the Southeast regional and had a team ERA of 2.44. The club also didn't allow an unearned run the entire tournament, blowing out North Carolina in the semifinals and beating Georgia in the final 1-0.

Brock Myers led Tennessee with a .429 average while hitting two dingers and knocking in five runs. Jake Rucker allowed just two runs in 8.2 innings, striking out 11.

Texas West (Southwest)

Texas West dominated offensively in the Southwest regional, scoring 50 runs in five games. The team also gave up just two earned runs in 26 innings pitched (0.46 ERA), shutting out Texas East in the final 9-0.

Carter Elliott and Zachary Sanchez combined to go 14-for-26 (.538), hitting one home run apiece. Tyler Vitt was spectacular, throwing 11.1 innings of shutout ball with 12 strikeouts and collecting three wins.

Northern California (West)

Last but not least, we have Northern California. 

Northern California racked up the most runs in the West regional (43), hitting seven home runs in the process. On top of that, the team ERA was 2.83, second-best in the tournament, and their pitchers combined for 47 strikeouts in 36 innings.

On the other hand, the defense wasn't as spectacular. Northern California gave up 10 unearned runs.

That didn't stop Northern California from going undefeated in the regional, however, with Logan Douglas (.471 average, two home runs, seven RBI) and Bradley Smith (2.13 ERA, 13 strikeouts) leading the way. 

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