Little League World Series 2026 Final Scores, Bracket Results, Thursday Highlights

Even with impending weather forcing the Little League World Series to adjust Thursday's schedule, the U.S. and international finals are now set.

Ohio defeated Iowa in the game at Lamade Stadium to reach the United States championship where it will take on Nevada.

The international semifinal saw Japan defeat Nicaragua to reach the final against Curaçao.

Thursday Results

Matchup	Score
United States Semifinal: Ohio def. Iowa	7-1
International Semifinal: Japan def. Nicaragua	4-1

Championship Schedule

Saturday, Aug. 29	Time (ET)
International Championship: Curaçao vs. Japan	12:30 p.m.
United States Championship: Nevada vs. Ohio	3:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 30	Time (ET)
Third-Place Game: International Title Loser vs. U.S. Title Loser	10 a.m.
World Championship: International Champ vs. U.S. Champ	3 p.m. ET

Game Recaps

Ohio 7, Iowa 1

For the first time since 2021 and just the second time in the state's history, Ohio will play for the U.S. championship after a 7-1 victory over Iowa.

The team from Hamilton West Side rode a four-run first inning to victory. Bob Frazier had the big hit with a three-run triple after Jack McAdams opened the scoring with an RBI single.

Walker Osborne was staked to a 4-0 lead before throwing his first pitch. He remained calm throughout his start, throwing a complete game with four strikeouts and one run allowed over six innings.

Next up for Ohio will be a showdown with Nevada in a rematch of their Aug. 21 game. Nevada won that contest 6-5 in what has been its one close call in the tournament thus far. The Henderson squad has outscored Washington and Iowa 19-6 in its last two games.

Ohio responded to the loss with five consecutive wins and has outscored opponents 39-6 during this stretch.

Japan 4, Nicaragua 1

Japan rode a combination of stellar pitching from Shinnosuke Ijima and timely hitting in the fifth inning to defeat Nicaragua 4-1 in the international semifinal.

Ijima was terrific on the mound with 11 strikeouts in a complete game victory. He allowed one run on four hits and threw 87 pitches.

The pitching on both sides was strong to start the game. After three scoreless innings, Nicaragua finally broke through in the top of the fourth thanks to José Martínez's RBI single to make it a 1-0 game.

Ijima, in addition to his dominance on the mound, helped himself at the plate in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single that tied the score.

Rui Tobata and Tensei Yazawa broke the stalemate in the fifth with back-to-back RBI doubles to put Japan ahead 4-1. Ijima closed out the game by striking out all three hitters he faced in the sixth.

This marks Japan's first appearance in the international championship game since 2019. It will go up against a Curaçao team that has outscored its three opponents 18-3 thus far, including a 6-0 victory over Japan on Aug. 21.