Little League World Series 2012: Analyzing the Remaining International Teams

The International competition at the 2012 Little League World Series is down to three teams, and each one has played fantastic baseball thus far.

Japan has dazzled the crowds in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and secured a spot in the championship game.

Mexico and Panama each have one loss and they will face off on Thursday, August 23^rd a 4 p.m. ET for a chance to challenge Japan. The winner of the International Championship game will face the United States champion in the premier game of the tournament.

Here is everything you need to know about the three remaining international teams.

Japan

Everything has started from the mound for the undefeated Japanese team.

The youngsters have been throwing fireballs in every game and as a team, Japan has a tournament-best 38 strikeouts compared to just three walks, as noted by LittleLeague.org. The team has allowed just one run in its three wins. 

Nortiatsu Osaka has seen the most time on the mound and he has 13 strikeouts and no walks in 7.1 innings. Yuta Ishida was the starter in a thrilling 2-0 victory over Chinese Taipei, and he has 11 strikeouts without a walk in his six innings of work.

The team’s pitching has been stellar from start to finish, and it will be remarkably difficult for any of its opponents to get on the scoreboard.

Mexico 

While Japan has achieved success through pitching, Mexico has reached this point in the tournament due to incredible batting performances.

These youngsters are currently leading the tournament in runs scored, hits and home runs. Ramon Ballina is one of two players in Williamsport to hit three home runs, according to LittleLeague.org.

The team lost its opening game to Canada, but has since rattled off three straight wins to earn a chance to play for a spot in the finals.

It would certainly be an intriguing matchup if Mexico’s big bats went up against Japan’s dominant arms.

Panama

The Latin American representatives are the only team to score a run against Japan, and they have certainly impressed during their three games.

The team scored 17 runs in two games against Uganda and Canada before going up against the incredible Japanese pitchers, where they only managed a single score in a 4-1 loss.

But the team’s inspired performances in the first two games bought them a little leeway, and now Panama has one more chance to make it to the International Championship game.

Both Mexico and Panama have had wonderful tournaments, but only one can face Japan. Given the way the two teams have played, Thursday's game looks like it will be another fantastic contest.