Little League World Series 2012 Bracket: Complete Matchups for Opening Round

The time for the best 12-year-old baseball players in the world to play against each other is finally here, as the opening round of the Little League World Series starts on Thursday and concludes on Friday.

Each win is vital in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, but there’s no bigger game for each team than their first one. Winning your opener automatically puts you in good position to make a run deep into the Little League World Series. On the other hand, losing the opener could be detrimental to your hopes and send you home earlier than expected.

There are eight opening round matchups over the course of two days and each is bound to be exciting. Here’s a preview of each matchup, and who I predict to win each contest.

Game 1: Japan vs. Caribbean

Matchup: Tokyo, Japan vs. Willemstad, Curacao

Day/Time/Field: Thursday, 1:00 p.m. ET, Volunteer

TV/Live Stream: ESPN and ESPN3

The Little Leaguers from Japan and Curacao will kick off all of the action from Williamsport, PA with the opening game on Thursday.

Tokyo was incredible during the Japanese Regional Tournament, going 4-0 and not giving any opponent the opportunity to knock them out. They have an outstanding offense that scored 43 runs over the course of the tournament, while their pitchers only allowed six runs.

Curacao also has a high-powered offense, but had to win more games to get to the Little League World Series. They ended up having to win six games in order to advance to Williamsport. They outscored opponents 65-7 over the six games, and won the Caribbean Championship Game by a score of 10-1.

This game could easily go either way, a close one or a blowout. Japan has had a lot of success over the last few go-arounds in Williamsport and I see them making a run for the title. That being said, I predict Japan to advance to the winner’s bracket after defeating Curacao.

Game 2: West vs. New England

Matchup: Petaluma, California vs. Fairfield, Connecticut

Day/Time/Field: Thursday, 3:00 p.m. ET, Lamade

TV/Live Stream: ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN3D

The second game from Williamsport will feature the West champion Petaluma Little Leaguers facing off against the New England champion Fairfield Little Leaguers.

The reigning Little Leaguer World Series champions hail from California, but this isn’t the Huntington Beach team that won it all last year. This year, the 12-year-olds from Petaluma will try and do the trick. These kids just made it to Williamsport and never had much of an easy game. In pool play, their largest margin of victory was just four runs, and they had two one-run games. They defeated Hawaii 7-5 to win the West Region when one of the Hawaii base runners failed to tag third base.

Connecticut rolled through the New England Region Tournament, going undefeated throughout their time in Bristol, CT. They did have some close games, however, as they defeated Rhode Island 1-0 early in pool play and then won the region in extra innings against Vermont to extend their summer vacation a little longer. They have a deep pitching staff and several players can hit the ball out of the park.

Although the New England champions don’t always have the most success at the Little League World Series, I’ve seen this Fairfield team and they could do something special this year. I predict that Connecticut takes down California in what will turn out to be a low scoring affair. 

Game 3: Europe vs. Asia-Pacific

Matchup: Ramstein, Germany vs. Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei

Day/Time/Field: Thursday, 5:00 p.m. ET, Volunteer

TV/Live Stream: ESPN2 and ESPN3

The third game on Thursday will feature the Little Leaguers from Germany and Chinese Taipei. Taiwan/Chinese Taipei holds the record for most championships with 17, while Germany has never won a Little League World Series.

Germany played very well through pool play, scoring 66 runs in six games and winning each of their contests. The 12-year-olds cruised in the quarterfinals against Lithuania and then only defeated Ukraine by three runs, but they advanced to the championship game to face the Netherlands. Germany won that matchup with ease by a score of 7-0.

Chinese Taipei was one of two teams in the Asia-Pacific Region to go undefeated trough pool play, but they were the only team to go undefeated the entire way. Hong Kong took out Korea—who had been undefeated—in the semifinals, and then Chinese Taipei crushed Hong Kong 12-2 to win the region.

I expect the team from Chinese Taipei to really play well in Williamsport, as they’ve been accustomed to do over the history of the tournament. On the other hand, I see Germany going home early as they have had difficulties in the past. This could end early due to the mercy rule.  

Game 4: Midwest vs. Southeast

Matchup: Kearney, Nebraska vs. Goodlettsville, Tennessee

Day/Time/Field: Thursday, 8:00 p.m. ET, Lamade

TV/Live Stream: ESPN, ESPN3 and ESPN3D

Nebraska and Tennesee will conclude the opening day from Williamsport, and it should be a great matchup between two very good teams.

The kids from Kearney, Nebraska had to play four straight days in order to make it to the semifinals, but that didn’t stop them from winning each of those contests. They took out Missouri in the semis 5-3, and then defeated North/South Dakota 10-4 in the championship to advance to the Little League World Series. Thad Huber of Nebraska led the region with 12 RBI over the tournament.  

After losing their opening pool play matchup to Virginia, the pressure was on for Tennessee to continue winning, and they didn’t disappoint. They won their next two pool play games, defeated South Carolina in the semifinals and then barely won against Georgia in the Southeast championship game.

If Brock Myers is on the mound for Tennessee, there’s a good likelihood that they end up winning this game. Although he wasn’t that dominant in the regional tournament, he still overpowers hitters and struck out 19 batters in 13.1 innings of work. It will be interesting how he approaches Nebraska’s Huber. I think that Myers wins the matchup and ends up winning the game.

Game 5: Mexico vs. Canada

Matchup: Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas vs. Vancouver, British Columbia

Day/Time/Field: Friday, 1:00 p.m. ET, Volunteer

TV/Live Stream: ESPN and ESPN3

Mexico looks to be the heavy favorite against the Canadian Little Leaguers.

Mexico had a tough road to earn a trip to Williamsport, which should help them in the LLWS. They didn’t even make it through pool play unscathed. They actually lost their fourth pool play matchup to Felix Arce Little League, but advanced to the semifinals with a 4-1 record. There, they defeated Amistad y Deporte 9-2 and then eliminated Santa Catarina 10-7 in the title game. The Mexicans are usually known for their hard throwers and loud bats.

Vancouver was clearly the best team in Canada during the Canada Region tournament, but they won’t be the best in Williamsport. This team only allowed two runs during their run to the Little League World Series, while scoring 74 runs of their own. Those are some hot bats, but they are bound to be silenced in this matchup.

Look for Mexico to win this game by a large margin to move on in the winner’s bracket, while Canada will be one loss away from heading back up north. 

Game 6: Mid-Atlantic vs. Southwest

Matchup: Parsippany, New Jersey vs. San Antonio, Texas

Day/Time/Field: Friday, 3:00 p.m. ET, Lamade

TV/Live Stream: ESPN, ESPN3 and ESPN3D

Friday’s first game at Lamade should be one of the best opening round matchups that we get the pleasure of watching.

New Jersey is a very good group of 12-year-olds, and they definitely know how to win baseball games. They would win their first two pool play games, but then lose to Washington, D.C. to make it a necessity that they win their final game. They took down Maryland in their fourth pool play game, defeated Pennsylvania in the semifinals and then Delaware in very close game in the finals. Bener Uygun is their player to watch who can hit well and throw hard.

Throughout the entire Southwest Region tournament, two teams really stood out even though one of them didn’t go undefeated in pool play. It just so happens that they were from opposite sides of the state of Texas. Texas East’s only loss came to Texas West during pool play. The two would meet again in the championship and yielded the same result, with Texas West winning its sixth straight game.

This is sure to be a close game, especially if Texas’ Tyler Vitt is on the mound. Vitt was the winner of three games during regional play, pitching in 11.1 innings without allowing a run. In the end, I think Vitt is too much for New Jersey to handle and Texas takes the final game of Thursday’s events.

Game 7: Latin America vs. Middle East & Africa

Matchup: Aguadulce, Panama vs. Lugazi, Uganda

Day/Time/Field: Friday, 5:00 p.m. ET, Volunteer

TV/Live Stream: ESPN2 and ESPN3

If there’s another guarantee that I can make about the opening round matchups, Panama shouldn’t have any trouble with Uganda.

Panama won some close games and they won some blowouts on their trip to Williamsport for the Little League World Series. They went undefeated through pool play and then took down Colombia in the semifinals, 3-0. They then won the Latin America Region title game 6-5 over Venezuela. I would expect that they have some very good pitchers and adequate hitters. Look for them to command the zone with ease and strikeout a ton of opponents.

Regarding Uganda, it didn’t sweep its pool, losing its first game to Saudi Arabia—who we’ve frequently seen over the last few years. I will give these kids some credit for winning their region, but I don’t think they should set their hopes too high.

This one has mercy rule all over it. I actually wouldn’t be too shocked if the Panama starting pitcher threw a no-hitter against Uganda. That might be a bold prediction, but we’ll see what happens on Friday. 

Game 8: Great Lakes vs. Northwest

Matchup: New Castle, Indiana vs. Gresham, Oregon

Day/Time/Field: Friday, 8:00 p.m., Lamade

TV/Live Stream: ESPN, ESPN3 and ESPN3D

The opening round finale will feature the 12-year-olds from Indiana and the 12-year-olds from Oregon, which looks to be a pretty even contest.

Let’s get this out of the way now. Indiana is very, very lucky to be playing in Williamsport. They went 2-2 during pool play and then barely won in the semifinals and the championship game to win the Great Lakes Region. Each of their final two games were decided to by just one run. Cayden Smekens is their all-star to watch throughout Williamsport. He led the region in batting average, RBI, wins and ERA.

Oregon is another team that just made it out of their region as they also went 2-2 during pool play. They lost their opener, but the rebounded to win two of their next three games to secure a spot in the semifinals. They there defeated Washington, 6-2, and then eliminated Idaho in the title game, 8-4. This team features two great pitchers in Hunter Hemenway and Greg Mehlhaff.

You can tell that these teams look very similar on paper, but how will they play once they hit the field against each other? Well, I think this is one of the closest game we see on either day of the opening round. In the end, I predict Indiana wins behind a great performance from Smekens on the mound.