LLWS 2015: Championship Bracket Predictions and Latest Highlights
Every summer, the Little League World Series rolls around and reminds baseball fans of the true meaning of the game. Things like sportsmanship and pure enjoyment take center stage as young ballplayers from around the world live out their dreams.
Make no mistake, though—these kids want to win, especially now that we have reached the championship bracket portion of the tournament. The thrill of playing on ESPN is one thing, but the idea of winning a championship under that spotlight is now well within reach.
Besides, the losing teams will have to turn their attention to school, and nobody wants that.
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Here is a look at the schedule, highlights on the road to the championship bracket and predictions for Saturday's showdowns.
Schedule
The schedule is courtesy of LLBWS.org. An updated bracket can be found at LittleLeague.org.
| Saturday, Aug. 29 | International Final | Mexico vs. Japan | 12:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Saturday, Aug. 29 | United States Final | Texas vs. Pennsylvania | 3:30 p.m. | ABC |
| Sunday, Aug. 30 | Third Place Game | TBA | 10 a.m. | ESPN |
| Sunday, Aug. 30 | LLBWS Final | TBA | 3 p.m. | ABC |
International Championship
Japan's Road
Japan is a perfect 3-0 at the Little League World Series and beat Chinese Taipei 7-5, handled Mexico 3-1 and knocked off Venezuela 5-4.
The win over Venezuela was a testament to Japan's toughness and ability to overcome a red-hot performance from Yeiner Fernandez. Fernandez drilled two extra-base hits at the plate, including a home run, and pitched 5.1 innings of two-run baseball for Venezuela.
Japan battled, though, and the two teams exchanged leads seven times.
Venezuela scored two in the top of the eighth, but Japan answered with three runs of its own to win in walk-off fashion. Yugo Aoki notched the game-winning single to bring home Yuta Komaba, and the victors clinched a spot in the International Championship.
Mexico's Road
Mexico has played five games to Japan's three thus far in the Little League World Series. Mexico beat Canada 1-0, lost to Japan 3-1, crushed Australia 14-3 and Chinese Taipei 11-1 and then clinched a spot in the International Championship with an 11-0 victory over Venezuela.
The bats came alive in recent contests, as Alberto Bustos, Raul Leon, Ernesto Rios, Andres Villa, Jorge Armenta and Damian Garcia each hit at least one home run in the past three victories.
Not to be outdone, the pitching staff has only allowed seven runs the entire tournament, including a mere one in the last two games.
Prediction
Japan already beat Mexico once to the tune of 3-1. The victors jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and only allowed a single run the entire game.
Fukutaro Kiyomiya drilled a homer, Kabu Kikuchi drove in two runs and the pitching took care of the rest.
If that single game was played in a vacuum, it would be easy to overlook it with the International Championship on the horizon. However, ESPN Stats & Info pointed out that Japan simply finds a way to beat Mexico every time the two countries meet at the Little League World Series:
What's more, Japan has only played three games compared to Mexico's five and had the day off Thursday while Mexico battled for a spot in the title contest. Japan should have fresh pitching ready to go and will maintain the pattern of dominance against Mexico.
Prediction: Japan 5, Mexico 2
United States Championship
Texas' Road
Texas is 3-1 throughout the Little League World Series and survived an extra-inning thriller against California Thursday for the right to play in the United States Championship. Texas beat Oregon 1-0, beat California 8-4, lost to Pennsylvania 3-0 and then outlasted California 9-7.
That elimination matchup with California was one of the best games in the entire Little League World Series. California jumped out to 3-0 lead, but Texas answered with a grand slam in the bottom of the first off the bat of Zack Mack.
Mack ended up with two hits, five RBI, two walks and two runs scored.
California seized a 6-4 lead in the third, but Texas chipped away with a run in the fourth and a run in the fifth to force extra innings. It looked as if California would win when it pushed across a run in the top of the eighth, but Texas received a game-tying solo homer from Ben Gottfried and a walk-off two-run homer from Caleb Low.
It was a dream moment for Low and his teammates, and Little League shared the scene:
Pennsylvania's Road
Pennsylvania took a somewhat less dramatic road to the United States Championship with an 18-0 win over Missouri, a 9-8 victory over South Carolina and a 3-0 win against the same Texas team it faces Saturday.
The South Carolina game stands out as the highlight thus far for Pennsylvania. It went up 6-0 after two innings and appeared to have the contest well in the bag, but South Carolina battled all the way back to take an 8-6 lead after it pushed across four runs in the sixth.
Kaden Peifer then hit a homer in the bottom of sixth to trim the lead to 8-7, and Jaden Henline played the role of hero with a walk-off two-run double. Henline is hitting .600 in three games as the anchor of the Pennsylvania lineup.
Prediction
The prediction for the United States Championship is a similar story to the International Championship with a previous matchup to fall back on and a team that historically just can't get over that final hump at the Little League World Series.
ESPN Stats & Info highlighted Texas' past struggles at this stage of the tournament:
What's more, Pennsylvania only played three games to reach this point and should have a well-rested pitching staff (like Japan). Pennsylvania also holds the mental edge of knowing it already beat Texas once in a game that saw Henline, Cole Wagner and Jake Cubbler drive in runs.
Wagner's RBI came off a home run.
Texas never put together much offense in that contest, and the hostile crowd could be one reason why. There were 35,000 people in Lamade Stadium for that matchup, many of whom made the short drive from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, to cheer on the Mid-Atlantic representative.
Texas coach Andrew Solomon discussed the home-field advantage for his opponent, per Joe Kay of the Associated Press (h/t the Baltimore Sun): "I don't think it really affected them. I could be wrong. They're really a focused group. Obviously it's not easy to play before 35,000 people when 34,900 are rooting for Pennsylvania."
With the home crowd on a fresh Pennsylvania's side, Texas will find more heartbreak at the U.S. Championship.
Prediction: Pennsylvania 4, Texas 2
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