Little League World Series 2016: Thursday Schedule, TV and Bracket Predictions
The 16 teams in the Little League World Series have been through the welcoming parade alongside all-time great and Major League Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, and now it's time for the competition to begin.
Bench, who dominated at catcher during a brilliant career with the Cincinnati Reds, greeted the Little Leaguers to Williamsport, Pennsylvania. With the pomp and circumstance out of the way, the tournament will get underway with four games on Thursday.
The Little League World Series is divided into two double-elimination tournaments, with eight international teams competing on one side of the bracket and eight American teams competing on the other side. The international winner and the American titlist will meet August 28 for the overall Little League World Series championship.
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| Aug. 18 | Mexico vs. Latin America | 1 p.m. | ESPN | Mexico |
| Aug. 18 | Mid-Atlantic vs. New England | 3 p.m. | ESPN | New England |
| Aug. 18 | Australia vs. Europe-Africa | 5 p.m. | ESPN | Australia |
| Aug. 18 | Northwest vs. Southeast | 7 p.m. | ESPN | Southeast |
The tournament opener will see Aguadulce, Panama, the Latin American representative, take on San Nicolas, the Mexican representative from Monterrey. That game will be played at Williamsport's Volunteer Stadium at 1 p.m. ET.
The team from Emilia, Italy, representing Europe-Africa, will meet the Australian representative from Sydney in a 5 p.m. game at Volunteer Stadium.
Warwick, Rhode Island, represents New England on the American side of the bracket, and that team will meet Endwell, New York, the Mid-Atlantic representative at Lamade Stadium at 3 p.m.
The first day of competition will close with a 7 p.m. game between Bend, Oregon, the Northwest regional champion and Goodlettsville, Tennessee, the Southeast regional titleholder. Lamade Stadium will also host that game.
All four games will be televised by ESPN.
The Warwick team is the third straight Rhode Island team to represent New England. Pitcher Colin Lemieux threw 10.1 innings in the regional tournament win for Warwick, and he struck out 15 hitters while giving up three runs. Their leading hitter was Sean Gallagher, who had four hits in seven at bats.
Endwell had to go through a gauntlet to make it to Williamsport. They defeated teams from New Jersey; Delaware; Washington, D.C.; and Pennsylvania to earn the Mid-Atlantic crown.
Bend proved to be a resilient team, as it lost its regional opener to Washington before coming through with victories over Alaska, Montana and Idaho to earn a rematch with Washington for the Northwest title. This time, Bend came out on top and earned the trip to Williamsport.
Keep your eye on Bend pitcher Zack Reynolds, who struck out nine in the victory over Washington in 5.1 innings.
Despite his success, Reynolds credited his teammates for their outstanding play in the decisive game.
“It really helps when you get a lead and that was my teammates’ work–that wasn’t me,” Reynolds told the Press-Enterprise. “They really backed me up and had my back. They put the ball in play and they made the plays they needed to.”
Goodlettsville won three close games to start its regional, and then blew out the representative from Georgia by a 15-3 margin to earn its title.
Goodlettsville may be a dominant hitting team, as the group batted .456 with four home runs and 27 RBI. Ethan Jackson was hot during the regional, collecting six hits in 10 at bats, including two home runs.
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