Little League World Series 2015: Thursday Schedule, TV Info, Bracket Predictions
The Little League World Series gets underway Thursday with four games in the double-elimination tournament.
The U.S. bracket features a pair of games, with the Pearland West (Texas) team meeting Wilshire-Riverside (Oregon) at 3 p.m. ET, and the second game features Bowling Green Eastern (Kentucky) playing Sweetwater Valley (California) at 7 p.m.
The international bracket will also feature two games. The Dominican Republic will meet surprising Uganda at 1 p.m., and Venezuela and Australia will square off at 5 p.m.
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The Kentucky-California game will be televised on ESPN2, while the other three games will be televised on ESPN.
| Thursday, August 20 | ||||
| Time (ET) | Bracket | Team | Team | TV |
| 1 p.m. | INT | Dominican Republic | Uganda | ESPN |
| 3 p.m. | US | Pearland West, TX | Wilshire-Riverside, OR | ESPN |
| 5 p.m. | INT | Venezuela | Australia | ESPN |
| 7 p.m. | US | Bowling Green Eastern, KY | Sweetwater Valley, CA | ESPN2 |
U.S. Bracket
Pearland West vs. Wilshire-Riverside
Pearland West earned its spot in Williamsport by rolling to wins over Arkansas, Missouri and back-to-back victories over Colorado. Pearland won in decisive fashion to get to the championship, beating Colorado 9-1 and 9-2. In the final victory, Carter Ostrom had two hits and two RBI, while pitcher Isaac Garcia held the team from North Boulder hitless over the final two innings.
The Texas representative will face a formidable opponent in Wilshire-Riverside. The Oregon team scored 10 or more runs in all four of its qualifying victories on the road to Williamsport, including a 15-3 triumph over Idaho in its Northwest regional championship game. Spencer Scott reached base four times for Oregon in its final victory, and he homered in the first inning to set the tone.
Prediction: Wilshire-Riverside (Oregon) 10, Pearland West (Texas) 5
Bowling Green vs. Sweetwater Valley
Bowling Green demonstrated its toughness in earning its spot in the Little League World Series. The Kentucky team absorbed a 10-0 defeat in its second Great Lakes regional game to Wisconsin, but the team bounced back from that loss with a tough 4-3 victory over Ohio. That gave them another shot at Wisconsin, and Bowling Green turned the tables with a 13-0 victory.
Eli Burwash pitched four shutout innings for the Kentucky team and struck out seven batters from the Badger State. Tayshaun Jones supported Burwash with a home run.
Sweetwater Valley displayed a powerful offensive attack in rolling to a 4-0 record in the West regional. The California team scored at least 11 runs in every game and earned its Williamsport trip with a 12-10 victory over Hawaii in the championship game. Jacob Baptista had three hits and three RBI in the final game for Sweetwater Valley.
Prediction: Sweetwater Valley (California) 13, Bowling Green (Kentucky) 6
International Bracket
Dominican Republic vs. Uganda
The Dominican Republic has long been producing excellent baseball players who have found their way to key roles in the major leagues. Uganda does not have that kind of baseball history and would seem to be at a disadvantage here.
However, the Ugandans earned the right to represent the Africa-Europe regions with dominating victories over Belgium, Belarus, the Czech Republic and Spain. The closest game the team from Kampala, Uganda, had was a 4-0 win over Italy.
The team from the Dominican Republic earned its spot in the international bracket of the Little League World Series by winning six of seven Caribbean regional games. The decisive victory was a 13-2 triumph over Aruba.
This is the Dominican Republic's first trip to Pennsylvania since 1996
Prediction: Dominican Republic 5, Uganda 3
Venezuela vs. Australia
Venezuela put on an impressive show in winning the Latin American region. Venezuela left little doubt that it was the best team in rolling to an 8-0 record to earn its spot in Williamsport. The Cardenales beat Panama 5-0 in the championship game. This is the 18th time a team from Venezuela has made it into the tournament.
The Cronulla Little League team out of Sydney won seven straight games to earn the right to serve as the Australian representative in the World Series. Cronulla's final 7-3 victory over Swan Lake punched its ticket to Pennsylvania. This marks the first time a team from Australia's East Coast will represent the country in the event.
Prediction: Venezuela 7, Australia 4
All scores and information courtesy of Little League Baseball World Series.
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