Little League World Series 2015: Bracket Dates, Teams, TV Schedule and Format
It's that time of year when pint-sized baseball takes center stage just as the MLB gears up for its stretch run. This isn't referring to the size of the beverages in the stands, of course, but the size of the players out on the diamond.
With regional finals out of the way, 16 Little League squads from around the world will descend upon charming Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the 2015 Little League World Series.
Chinese Taipei is the historically dominant nation with 17 titles, followed by Japan with nine. Last year saw Seoul Little League of South Korea earn the small country's third Little League World Series title in a thrilling contest over Jackie Robinson West of Chicago. However, there's no South Korean team to be found this year, so the competition is wide open.
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The last time a U.S.-based squad won was in 2011, and many fans in attendance and tuning in across the nation will be looking to see if one of these talented teams of youngsters from the homefront can keep the trophy at home.
Teams
Here's a look at the teams in this year's Little League World Series.
| Team | Country |
| Tung Yuan | Chinese Taipei |
| Cronulla | Australia |
| White Rock South Surrey, British Columbia | Canada |
| Los Bravos de Pontezula | Dominican Republic |
| AVRS Secondary School | Uganda |
| Tokyo Kitasuna | Japan |
| Cardenales | Venezuela |
| Seguro Social | Mexico |
| Team | Region |
| Sweetwater Valley, California | West |
| Pearland West, Texas | Southwest |
| Wilshire-Riverside, Oregon | Northwest |
| Webb City, Missouri | Midwest |
| Bowling Green Eastern, Kentucky | Great Lakes |
| Northwood, South Carolina | Southeast |
| Red Land, Pennsylvania | Mid-Atlantic |
| Cranston Western, Rhode Island | New England |
Schedule, TV Info
LLBWS.org has a complete listing of games and where to watch them. All tournament games will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC. There are two venues for the remaining games: Little League Volunteer Stadium and Howard J. Lamade Stadium.
WatchESPN will provide live-stream coverage of some games. A schedule for live streams can be found at LLBWS.org. Here's the complete tournament schedule, TV info and times for each contest.
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| 1 | Opening | 1 p.m. | Dominican Republic vs. Uganda | ESPN |
| 2 | Opening | 3 p.m. | Pearland West, TX vs. Wilshire-Riverside, OR | ESPN |
| 3 | Opening | 5 p.m. | Venezuela vs. Australia | ESPN |
| 4 | Opening | 7 p.m. | Bowling Green Eastern, KY vs. Sweetwater Valley, CA | ESPN2 |
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| 5 | Opening | 2 p.m. | Canada vs. Mexico | ESPN |
| 6 | Opening | 4 p.m. | Cranston Western, RI vs. Northwood, SC | ESPN |
| 7 | Opening | 6 p.m. | Japan vs. Chinese Taipei | ESPN |
| 8 | Opening | 8 p.m. | Webb City, MO vs. Red Land, PA | ESPN |
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| 9 | Elimination | 1 p.m. | Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3 | ESPN |
| 10 | Elimination | 3 p.m. | Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4 | ABC |
| 11 | Elimination | 6 p.m. | Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7 | ESPN |
| 12 | Elimination | 8 p.m. | Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8 | ESPN |
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| 13 | Double Elimination | 11 a.m. | Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3 | ESPN |
| 14 | Double Elimination | 3 p.m. | Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4 | ABC |
| 15 | Double Elimination | 5 p.m. | Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 7 | ESPN |
| 16 | Double Elimination | 7 p.m. | Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8 | ESPN2 |
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| Consolation Game A | 12 p.m. | Loser Game 9 vs. Loser Game 10 | ESPN | |
| 17 | Elimination | 2 p.m. | Loser Game 15 vs. Winner Game 9 | ESPN |
| 18 | Elimination | 4 p.m. | Loser Game 16 vs. Winner Game 10 | ESPN |
| 19 | Elimination | 6 p.m. | Loser Game 13 vs. Winner Game 11 | ESPN2 |
| 20 | Elimination | 8 p.m. | Loser Game 14 vs. Winner Game 12 | ESPN2 |
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| Consolation Game B | 1 p.m. | Loser Game 11 vs. Loser Game 12 | ESPN | |
| 21 | Elimination | 4 p.m. | Winner Game 17 vs. Winner Game 19 | ESPN |
| 22 | Elimination | 8 p.m. | Winner Game 18 vs. Winner Game 20 | ESPN2 |
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| 23 | Double Elimination | 4 p.m. | Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 15 | ESPN |
| 24 | Double Elimination | 8 p.m. | Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 16 | ESPN |
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| 25 | Elimination | 4 p.m. | Winner Game 21 vs. Loser Game 23 | ESPN |
| 26 | Elimination | 8 p.m. | Winner Game 22 vs. Loser Game 24 | ESPN |
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| 27 | Intl. Championship | 12:30 p.m. | Winner Game 23 vs. Winner Game 25 | ABC |
| 28 | U.S. Championship | 3:30 p.m. | Winner Game 24 vs. Winner Game 26 | ABC |
| Game | Round | Time (ET) | Matchup | TV |
| 29 | Third Place Game | 10 a.m. | Intl. runner-up vs. U.S. runner-up | ESPN |
| 30 | World Series Championship | 3 p.m. | Intl. champion vs. U.S. champion | ABC |
Format
The Little League World Series is a double-elimination tournament. The United States representatives play within their bracket until a champion is crowned. Same goes for the international bracket. The only crossover occurs in the World Series championship game, the third-place game and two consolation games.
The consolation contests are for the first four teams to lose two games and get eliminated from regular tournament play. In those games, a U.S. team will take on an international team. This ensures that each of the 16 teams in the tournament get to play at least three games.
Preview
Last year, Taney Youth of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania made a splash in the tournament thanks to the pitching talents of Mo'Ne Davis. And this year, it looks like the Keystone State has produced another team to watch, because Red Land absolutely steamrolled the competition in the Mid-Atlantic Regional. They went 3-0 in the regional, winning their games by a combined score of 36-5. Ethan Phillips accounted for nine RBI in the first two games.
The Lewisberry-based squad wont have far to travel to Williamsport and should draw favorable crowds, making them a team to watch in this one. That said, their initial competition looks to be another indomitable group of youngsters from Webb City, Missouri. Webb City looks supremely dangerous at the plate after going 4-1 in the Midwest Regional with 51 runs scored.
There's also the case of the pulverizing force that is Wilshere-Riverside, Oregon, boasting offensive numbers that might make the mercy rule itself cry "Uncle!" Here's a look at the regional numbers for all the U.S. winners.
| Sweetwater Valley, CA | West | 4-0 | 50 | 26 | +24 |
| Wilshire-Riverside, Oregon | Northwest | 4-0 | 58 | 18 | +40 |
| Northwood, SC | Southeast | 4-0 | 49 | 10 | +39 |
| Webb City, MO | Midwest | 4-1 | 51 | 11 | +40 |
| Bowling Green Eastern, KY | Great Lakes | 3-1 | 22 | 15 | +7 |
| Pearland West, TX | Southwest | 4-0 | 41 | 7 | +34 |
| Red Land, PA | Mid-Atlantic | 3-0 | 36 | 5 | +31 |
| Cranston Western, RI | New England | 4-1 | 33 | 14 | +19 |
As for international squads, Japan is known for sending over talented representatives. The island nation has taken three LLWS titles since 2010. It's also nice to see Uganda back in the tournament. In 2012, Uganda became the first African nation to appear in the Little League World Series championship tournament.
This year's team, from the AVRS Secondary School, arguably had a tougher road to this point, as they had to beat out teams from Europe as well as fellow African nations. In 2012, Uganda was in a Middle East-Africa regional.
The competition is great and all, but the Little League World Series is truly special thanks to the kids' unbridled, unabashed enthusiasm and heartwarming moments like this one from a U.S. regional, per Little League's Twitter account:
The Little League World Series isn't immune to the less savory aspects of sports, but watching young athletes spotlighted on a global stage is an awesome spectacle, year in and year out. Let's play ball.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
