Little League World Series 2015: Brackets, TV Schedule and Predictions
Eight days and 26 games later, the 2015 Little League World Series is down to its final four, with two bracket championship games and a trip to the championship on the line.
In the International bracket, Mexico takes on perennial Little League power Japan. Mexico waxed Venezuela 11-0 on Thursday, continuing a torrid run of performances at the plate. Japan is undefeated and played just three games to Mexico's five. The kids from Kitasuna Little League in Tokyo rallied in extra innings on Thursday to defeat Venezuela 5-4 and book a spot in the bracket championship for the sixth year in a row.
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On the U.S. side of things, it's Texas' Pearland West Little League against the hot-ticket home-staters in Pennsylvania's Red Land Little League. Undefeated Red Land shut out Pearland West 3-0 on Thursday to send the young Texans into a do-or-die Friday matchup against California's Sweetwater Valley Little League.
The extra-innings affair was perhaps the best game of the tournament thus far. Pearland West trailed Sweetwater Valley 7-6 heading into the eighth inning, but Ben Gottfried smacked a homer to tie it, and Caleb Low took on the role of walk-off hero with his dramatic two-run homer to win the game at what I assume was long after bedtime.
Saturday's doubleheader is a slate baseball fans won't want to miss. Here's the TV schedule, live stream info, predictions and a preview of the game you can't miss if you can only catch one.
| International | 12:30 p.m. | Howard J. Lamade | Mexico | Japan | ABC | Mexico 5-4 Japan |
| United States | 3:30 p.m. | Howard J. Lamade | Pearland West | Red Land | ABC | Red Land 6-4 Pearland West |
Bracket
The Little League Baseball World Series bracket can be found here.
Game to Watch
Mexico vs. Japan
After scoring just two runs in its first two games—one of those a loss to Japan—Mexico's offense has exploded over the last three games, scoring in double digits each time. The pitching has been excellent all tournament long, leading to some lopsided performances.
| August 24 | Australia | W, 14-3 |
| August 25 | Chinese Taipei | W, 11-1 |
| August 27 | Venezuela | W, 11-0 |
Raul Leon has keyed the offensive explosion, racking up nine RBI in the tournament, including five against Chinese Taipei and three more against Venezuela.
As for pitchers, Armando Verdugo allowed one run in five innings while striking out six against Chinese Taipei, and Daniel Zaragosa tossed 5.2 shutout innings against Venezuela. Zaragosa isn't likely available to pitch, but Mexico has other hurlers to call upon in Jose Reyes and Hector Sanchez.
Traversing through the loser's bracket means Mexico has played five games to Japan's three, leaving the latter team fresh and focused for Saturday's action.
It turns out Japan's formula for success—and not just Tokyo Kitasuna, but other teams as well—is the same one that gets you to Carnegie Hall: practice, but more specifically, 10-hour practices. NPR's Anthony Kuhn explains:
"This year, Japan is being represented by the Tokyo Kitasuna team, which won the 2012 series. By the time I was ready to interview team members, they were already packing their bags to head for Williamsport.
So instead, on a recent Saturday morning, I paid a visit to their neighbor, the Musashi Fuchu team, winner of the 2013 and 2003 world series.
The team practices eight-to-10 hours every Saturday and Sunday. Each morning is devoted just to fielding practice. The kids field endless bunts and turn one double play after another.
"
And according to that team's manager, Masumi Omae, there's a special word for this relentless devotion to perfection: yakyudo, or the "way of baseball," via Kuhn.
Japan hasn't blown any of its three opponents out of the water—its run differential is a modest plus-five—and the youngsters came close to capitulating against Venezuela. It took a three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Latin America regional representatives. Yugo Aoki's single capped the rally, and Little League caught the victorious moment:
Despite the close calls, there's a certain aura of inevitability when it comes to Japan and the Little League World Series. Japanese squads have won this tournament three times since 2010, and nine times overall (second only to Chinese Taipei).
Japan defeated Mexico 3-1 on Sunday, and with two days off coming into Saturday and so few games played, the pitching staff should be well prepped to quiet Mexico's bats.
However, Mexico should still be able to come up with a few runs no matter who's pitching, putting the onus on top Japanese hitters like Aoki and Shingo Tomita to perform. Japan looks poised for another shot at the title, but Mexico has simply been irresistible as of late and should be able to come up with just enough offense to book a trip to the championship.
Prediction: Mexico wins 5-4
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