Little League World Series Regionals 2016: Thursday Scores and Bracket Results

Regional qualifying for the 2016 Little League World Series continued Thursday, with several teams looking to take one step closer to earning a trip to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the biggest event in Little League Baseball.

Although no LLWS berths were decided Thursday, some teams saw their hopes of playing on the big stage dashed, while others stayed alive and gave themselves an opportunity to make it into their regional championship game.

As the field for the 2016 Little League World Series continues to fill out, here is a full rundown of Thursday's results and a recap of how the pressure-packed games played out.

Thursday Scores

Region	Winning Team	Losing Team	Score
Midwest	Kansas	Minnesota	6-3
New England	Connecticut	New Hampshire	17-11
Northwest	Washington	Idaho	18-7
Great Lakes	Michigan	Ohio	1-0
Mid-Atlantic	Pennsylvania	Delaware	9-5
West	Southern California	Hawaii	14-11

Midwest

Kansas (Frontenac Little League) moved on to the penultimate game of the Midwest Regional Thursday, as it defeated and eliminated Minnesota (Coon Rapids/Andover American Little League), 6-3.

The Kansas team received a great effort from leadoff hitter Brett Cleland, who went 3-for-3 and scored a run. Also, pitcher Jeremy Raio scattered five hits, three walks and three earned runs in 5.1 innings to earn the victory.

Minnesota pitcher Tina Tran didn't fare as well, allowing nine hits and six runs (four earned) in just 3.2 innings.

While Minnesota did get a home run from leadoff hitter Kyle Law to start the game, that proved to be the highlight, as Kansas mounted an impressive comeback.

Kansas will now face Nebraska Friday, with the winner advancing to the Midwest Regional final to take on undefeated Iowa.

Although Kansas already lost 6-0 to Nebraska, it has a great deal of momentum on its side after Thursday's win, which could be key with Nebraska coming off a loss to Iowa.

New England

Connecticut (Fairfield American Little League) kept its Little League World Series hopes alive Thursday by outlasting New Hampshire (Bedford Little League) in a 17-11 shootout that featured a bevy of extra-base hits.

While Connecticut led 7-0 through three and a half innings, New Hampshire rallied to tie it with a seven-run fourth. Connecticut managed to regroup, though, and 10 runs over the final two innings pushed it to victory.

No. 1 and 2 hitters Ben Gaffney and Michael Iannazzo combined to go 8-for-10 with seven runs and four RBI for Connecticut, while Matthew Sawyer and Richie Kerstetter each went yard once.

New Hampshire received some big-time production as well from Ryan Juliano, as he went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI, but it wasn't enough.

The win was a big one for Connecticut, especially since it previously lost a game to New Hampshire. While it managed to get retribution, it is still two wins away from reaching Williamsport.

Connecticut will play Massachusetts Friday, and the winner of that game will go on to face Rhode Island Saturday for the right to represent New England at the LLWS.

Northwest

Washington (Lynnwood Pacific Little League) pulled to within one win of reaching the Little League World Series Thursday, as it defeated Idaho (North Boise Little League) 18-7.

Washington made life miserable for the Idaho pitchers as it bashed five home runs and scored at least one run on four of the five pitchers who appeared in the game for Idaho.

Remy Heckman was unquestionably the biggest offensive star for Washington, as the leadoff hitter went 3-for-5 with a pair of homers, three runs and four RBI. He was supported by Tyreek Curley's home run and three RBI.

Fourteen of Washington's 18 runs came in the fifth and sixth innings, which broke open what was a close game through four frames.

By virtue of the triumph, Washington moved into the Northwest Regional final where it will meet the winner of a game between Idaho and Oregon.

Washington holds a victory over both teams as it previously beat Oregon 8-2, so it is now the overwhelming favorite to make the trip to Williamsport.

Great Lakes

Offense was at a premium between Michigan (Essexville-Hampton Little League) and Ohio (West Side Little League) on Thursday.

Michigan scored just one run in its win, but that's all that was needed behind the pitching of Tommy Szczcpanski. The young ace threw 85 pitches in 5.1 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out nine batters. 

He out-dueled Ohio's Micadan Stephens, who went 4.2 innings and allowed one run on three hits while striking out five. 

Michigan's lone run came in the fourth inning in the form of an RBI double by Alex Czyzewski, scoring Logan Anthony from first.

With the win, Michigan improved to 2-1 as it trails just Kentucky in the regional standings while Ohio dropped to 2-2. 

Mid-Atlantic

Pennsylvania (Keystone Little League) scored in five of six possible innings on its way to a 9-5 win over Delaware (Milton Little League). 

Kaden Falls paced the winners' offense with a 2-for-4 outing with two RBI. Holding a 6-4 lead in the top of the sixth, Falls gave his team some breathing room with a two-run home run over the left field wall to put the game away. 

Most of Delaware's offense came from Chase Boyle, who recorded four of his team's five RBI on the night. Three of them came on a home run in the third inning to draw Delaware within one at 5-4 before Pennsylvania pulled away. 

West Region

If you like offense, then Southern California's (Park View Little League) slugfest against Hawaii (Central East Maui Little League) was the perfect game to watch. 

It was Southern California to come out victorious in a game that featured 25 combined runs on 28 combined hits, winning 14-11. 

Southern California scored in all six innings, putting up crooked numbers in four of them. Its largest frame came in the fifth inning when it put up a five spot. 

Hawaii was trailing 14-5 entering the bottom of the sixth, but strung together six runs to make Southern Californians sweat before being retired. 

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