Little League World Series 2015: Bracket Picks for Thursday's Schedule
Two teams lost for the first time Wednesday at the 2015 Little League World Series, but they will have an opportunity to atone for those defeats Thursday by playing for a chance to reach their respective group title games.
Venezuela will look to bounce back against Mexico with Japan waiting in the international final, while the winner of the clash between California and Texas will take on Pennsylvania. Although Thursday's winners will be among the final four teams in the tournament, the losing teams will be sent packing.
There figures to be no shortage of drama involved Thursday, as all four teams in action are extremely talented and have a legitimate chance to go all the way in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
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Here is a full listing of predictions for the crucial slate of games as well as a closer look at how the teams stack up.
Thursday's LLWS Picks
| 4 p.m. | Elimination | Mexico | Venezuela (Latin America) | 5-3, Mexico |
| 8 p.m. | Elimination | California (West) | Texas (Southwest) | 7-4, California |
Breaking Down Thursday's Games
Mexico vs. Venezuela (Latin America)
Just one day after a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Japan, Venezuela will have to pick itself up, dust itself off and go head-to-head with a strong Mexican squad in order to avoid elimination.
The Latin American side had favored Japan on the ropes with a 4-2 lead in extra innings, but Japan managed to scratch across three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, which means Venezuela is now just one loss away from being sent home.
Venezuela and Japan took part in what was arguably the most dramatic game of the Little League World Series thus far, and it thoroughly impressed former MLB star and current MLB on TBS analyst Gary Sheffield:
It was unclear how good Venezuela was prior to its game against Japan, as it had beaten lower-level opponents in Australia and Uganda, but there is now no question it has what it takes to go all the way.
With that said, Mexico has proved to be an excellent team as well with wins over Canada, Australia and Chinese Taipei. The Mexicans also dropped a narrow 3-1 decision to Japan.
It is difficult to pick a winner in this one since both teams took Japan to the brink, but Mexico may have a slight advantage. Not only does it have an extra day of rest to its credit, but Venezuela is also coming off an extremely tough loss that could impact its psyche Thursday.
Add in the fact that Mexico boasts a potentially explosive lineup featuring big-time power hitters such as Raul Leon, Ernesto Rios and Andres Villa, and it seems the likeliest scenario is Mexico forcing a rematch with Japan to determine the international champion.
California (West) vs. Texas (Southwest)
Pearland, Texas, shocked many when it pulled off an 8-4 upset win over Bonita, California, on Sunday, but it will have to pull off that feat twice in order to keep its Little League World Series title hopes alive.
The Southwest representative dropped a 3-0 decision to Pennsylvania on Wednesday, while California throttled Kentucky 11-3 Tuesday to pull to within one game of reaching the United States final. If that isn't enough incentive to win, one can only assume West has revenge on its mind.
California may be the more talented team, as evidenced by the fact it ran through qualifying and has scored 39 runs in four games in Williamsport, but Texas head coach Andrew Solomon believes his team has all the tools needed to succeed, according to Brett Dolan of CBS Houston.
"We are watching them mature before our eyes," Solomon said. "We are very solid on the mound and defensively. We have some power and great team speed. We have played together for a long time, and never as a group have they been intimidated by the other team."
Texas proved that lack of intimidation when it beat California, and even though it ultimately lost to Pennsylvania, it never backed down despite the vast majority of the fans in attendance rooting for the home-state team.
While Texas certainly can't be counted out based on what it has accomplished in this tournament thus far, California may have too much firepower for Pearland to extinguish for a second time.
Superstar slugger Walker Lannom leads the way, but essentially everyone in the lineup is capable of going deep at any time, including Antonio Andrade, Levi Mendez, Nate Nankil and others.
Texas is the only team that has been able to slow down California to this point in Williamsport, but it won't be so fortunate Thursday.
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