Little League World Series 2012: Teams to Beat After Day 3 of LLWS

Day 4 of the Little League World Series is upon us and the field is beginning to narrow in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Four teams have already been eliminated from contention after suffering their second loss on Saturday.

Two U.S. teams, Oregon and Nebraska, were among the four teams eliminated. International teams Germany and Uganda were also eliminated with losses on Saturday.

Sunday, Day 4 of the tournament, will feature the winning teams from the first two days of action. There are no elimination games today, only games that will solidify the top teams as the unmatched contenders to win this thing.

Four U.S. teams and four international teams remain unbeaten and all will be in action today. Let’s take a look at who those top teams are and who they are going up against.

Canada vs. Panama

Canada found themselves in a scoring battle with Mexico in their opening-round matchup on Friday. Their pitching was ultimately able to settle down and hold off a Mexican comeback down the stretch. They’ll need to pitch, and field, a lot better if they are hoping to contain the explosive Panamanian little leaguers’ offense.

Tennessee vs. California

Tennessee is coming off of a first-day trouncing of Nebraska. They scored 12 runs on 13 hits and belted four home runs while holding the Midwest team to only two hits. California, on the other hand, battled through a highly contested opening-round win. They narrowly knocked off a good Connecticut team by a 6-4 margin.

Texas vs. Indiana

Indiana wasn’t explosive in their win Friday over the now eliminated Oregon team, but they did blank them on the scoreboard. The game was dead-locked until a four-run explosion in the bottom of the fifth put Indiana ahead. Their pitching held the Oregon team to a mere two hits.

Texas had a bigger challenge in New Jersey. The teams both pitched well, allowing only five hits a piece, but Texas was able to come out on top with a 5-2 advantage.

Japan vs. Chinese Taipei

This matchup features one of the best teams in this tournament—Japan. The team from the Asia-Pacific region handily defeated Curacao in their opening round, exhibiting proficient hitting and dominant pitching over the talented Caribbean team. Chinese Taipei, though, was just as dominant and more explosive at the plate. Their onslaught caused the game to end prematurely, in the fourth-inning, due to the mercy rule being put into effect. In the end, Germany only mustered one run on one hit.

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