Little League World Series 2015: Saturday Scores, Bracket Results and Highlights

Every game at the Little League World Series is of the utmost importance, but Saturday's slate is especially crucial since all four contests are elimination games.

The eight teams that are in action lost their openers Friday, which means one more defeat would mark the end of their title hopes. At the same time, the winners will have new life and a great opportunity to make a deep run despite getting off to a less-than-ideal start.

Although it can be argued that Saturday's schedule doesn't feature any of the tournament's elite teams, they have the same aspirations, and they certainly want to extend their stay in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for as long as possible.

Here is a rundown of Saturday's Little League World Series results, as well as a breakdown of how every contest played out.

Saturday's LLWS Scores

Start Time (ET)	Team 1	Team 2	Score
1 p.m.	Australia	Dominican Republic (Caribbean)	3-0, Australia
3 p.m.	Oregon (Northwest)	Kentucky (Great Lakes)	7-5, Kentucky
6 p.m.	Chinese Taipei (Asia-Pacific)	Canada	16-4, Chinese Taipei
8 p.m.	Rhode Island (New England)	Missouri (Midwest)	6-3, Rhode Island

LLWS Bracket Results

Fans can view the 2015 Little League World Series bracket at LittleLeague.org.

Saturday's LLWS Recap

Australia 3, Dominican Republic 0

The Dominican Republic's first trip to the Little League World Series since 1996 was spoiled Saturday, as it was defeated 3-0 by Australia and eliminated from the competition, with the exception of a consolation game Monday.

As seen in this photo courtesy of Bill Koch of the Providence Journal, there was a massive crowd on hand to see which team would keep its run toward a championship going:

Many were shocked when the Dominicans fell to upstart Uganda on Friday, but they had a chance to bounce back in the loser's bracket. Unfortunately for them, they ran into a buzz saw in the form of Aussie pitcher Jake Burns.

The dominant righty cruised through four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out seven, although things got shaky in the fifth inning after his eighth punchout. Burns walked consecutive batters, which prompted Australia to bring in Luke Krkovski.

After posting a strikeout, Krkovski got out of a bases-loaded jam due to superb defense from outfielder Myles Chabi, who robbed an Anderson Luciano liner to preserve the lead.

That play seemed to both re-energize Australia and demoralize the Dominican Republic at the same time, as Burns and Blake Cavill hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth inning to make it 3-0.

Here is a look at the game's highlights, courtesy of Little League's official Twitter account:

Emmanuel Rodriguez, who started the game for the Caribbean side, pitched only two innings before being lifted due to apparent discomfort in his pitching arm. Rodriguez stayed in to play the outfield, but he was replaced on the mound by Idelfonso Puello, who proceeded to mow down the competition.

Puello struck out 10 batters in four innings of relief; however, his issues in the sixth inning ultimately put Australia's lead further out of reach.

Despite the loss, the Dominican Republic's focus and overall performance was impressive since it was able to overcome a distraction involving assistant coach Victor Bernabe, according to Ben Brigandi of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette:

The result ultimately wasn't the one the Dominicans wanted, but they certainly didn't play like a team that was worried about off-field issues.

Australia, on the other hand, now finds itself in the same spot as last year. The Aussies won their second game after losing their first in 2014, but they were subsequently ousted by Mexico.

This year's team has the makings of a sleeper, though, especially if the combination of Burns and Cavill continues to get the job done on the mound and at the plate. 

Kentucky 7, Oregon 5

After three innings of evenly matched play, Kentucky took advantage of a pitching change to defeat and eliminate Oregon 7-5.

The Great Lakes representatives struggled to get to Northwest starter Kaden Segel as he allowed just two hits and one walk to go along with no runs through three innings. Segel was then lifted in favor of Spencer Scott in the fourth inning, which is where things went haywire for Oregon.

Catcher Cooper Shaw had a rough inning with a passed ball, a dropped third strike and an error, which ultimately resulted in Kentucky scoring three runs, although only one of them was earned.

Kentucky then added to its lead and put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth by tacking on four runs. One of them came courtesy of Tayshaun Jones off the bench, which has become his specialty as of late, according to Chris Masse of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette:

The other three were driven in by Devin Obee as he cranked a three-run home run, which ended up being more important runs for Bowling Green, Kentucky, than anyone could have imagined.

Hurler Carson Kelley had silenced the Portland, Oregon, bats through five innings with nine strikeouts and no runs allowed, but he ran into big time trouble in the top of the sixth inning.

After loading the bases with a single and a pair of walks, Oregon scored its first run on a wild pitch. Jackson Farr then pounded a three-run home run followed by a solo shot from Shaw to make it 7-5 with no outs in the inning.

Despite Kelley's struggles, Kentucky stayed with him for as long as it could, and he finally recorded the first out of the inning before having to depart due to his pitch count.

Carson Myers stepped into a high-pressure situation, but he was able to get the final two outs and put a stop to what was very nearly one of the greatest comebacks in LLWS history.

Saturday's result was a far cry from what happened Friday as Oregon dropped a one-run heart-breaker to Pearland, Texas, while Kentucky was blown out 14-2 by dominant Bonita, California.

Despite Friday's big loss, however, Kentucky was able to bounce back and turn in a fantastic performance, which bodes well for its chances moving forward.

There is no room left for error, but Kentucky has now proven that it has enough talent to be a threat in Williamsport.

Chinese Taipei 16, Canada 4

Scoring two runs in the first inning generally represents a good start to a game, except when the other team scored nine in the top half of the inning.

When Canada first stepped to the plate, they had already dug themselves into a 9-0 hole. According to GameChecker, Chinese Taipei owned a 92 percent chance of winning before the end of the second inning.

Things didn't get much better from there for the Canadians as their opponents rolled to a 16-4 win.

Chinese Taipei collected 14 hits, including four home runs. Wei Hung Chou was the game's top hitter, drilling two home runs and driving in six runs. According to the Associated Press (via PennLive.com), Chou was one RBI short of the Little League World Series record.

Yen Cheng Yu had a strong performance as well, going 2-for-2 at the plate with three RBIs and four runs scored. He also picked up two walks for good measure.

With the loss, Canada is eliminated from the LLWS, while Chinese Taipei's title hopes are still hanging by a thread. They'll at least live to fight another day.

Rhode Island 6, Missouri 3

A five-run first inning propelled Rhode Island to a 6-3 win over Missouri on Saturday night.

With the bases loaded and two out, Cale McCallister walked home a run to give Rhode Island a 1-0 lead. Jason Patalano then delivered a single, scoring two more runs. Back-to-back singles by Jake Bender and Tommy Harper plated two more runs, giving Rhode Island a nice 5-0 buffer heading into the bottom half of the first.

Devrin Weathers delivered a one-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the first to get Missouri within striking distance. However, his team wouldn't score again until the bottom of the fifth. A comeback simply wasn't on the cards.

According to GameChecker, Missouri had 66.7 percent quality at-bats, compared to 48.4 percent for Rhode Island. Given that figure, it's somewhat surprising Missouri never inched any closer or seriously threatened to tie the game. It left seven runners on base, which didn't help.

As a result, Missouri will be heading home from the Little League World Series.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.