Little League World Series 2016: Friday Scores, Bracket Results and Highlights

The 2016 Little League World Series rolled on Friday with the second set of first-round games in both the United States and International brackets. It also marked the tournament debut of the representatives from Japan, which has captured four of the past six championships. 

The event is contested under a modified double-elimination format, meaning the losing teams from Friday's games are still in title contention as they head into the one-loss bracket. They will face must-win contests on Saturday in the first group of elimination games, though.

Let's check out the complete set of information from the second day of competition in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which will get updated through the end of play. That's followed by a recap of the action.

Friday's Schedule and Results

Round	Matchup	Result/Time (ET)
1 (International)	Canada vs. Japan	10-4 CAN
1 (United States)	West vs. Midwest	5-1 MW
1 (International)	Caribbean vs. Asia-Pacific	3-0 AP
1 (United States)	Great Lakes vs. Southwest	11-1 SW

Canada vs. Japan

Canada (Hastings Community Little League; British Columbia) provided the International competition with its first major surprise as it scored a blowout victory over Japan (Chofu Little League; Tokyo) to immediately establish itself as a title threat.

Not only has Japan enjoyed consistent success in the tournament over the past handful of years, but this year's team looked as potent as any. The group from Chofu LL rolled through Japanese qualifying, scoring 57 runs in four games during an unbeaten run to the title.

Canadian starting pitcher Loreto Siniscalchi responded by holding the team to no runs and just a single hit over the first three innings. While Japan did make a late surge, it wasn't enough to complete a comeback after falling behind 9-1.

Baseball Tonight's Twitter account pointed out that it's the first time in 51 years (24 appearances) that Japan has lost its opening game at the Little League World Series.

Along with his strong work on the mound, Siniscalchi added a home run as part of a two-hit day at the plate for Canada. Cristian Santarelli also hit one out of the yard to straightaway center as part of a terrific offensive display, as Little League highlighted:

Jo Adachi had two runs batted in for Japan, which mustered just six hits and struck out 13 times in the contest. Akira Jozawa also drove in a run for the squad from Tokyo.

Ultimately, Japan is a much better team than Friday's result would suggest. It possesses a lineup with the ability to make solid contact from top to bottom, which makes it tough to count the side out despite the early defeat. A convincing win on Saturday would go a long way in helping to build some confidence.

Canada advances directly to Sunday's games with far less pressure on its shoulders. Beating Japan with such ease out of the gate makes quite a statement, too.

Midwest vs. West

The Midwest (Johnston Little League; Iowa) scored five runs over its final three at-bats after falling behind 1-0 to edge the West (Park View Little League; California) in the United States bracket.

Midwest starting pitcher Jack Emanuel held the West at bay after giving up an early run. Then relievers Josh Larson and Michael Siemer shut the door while the offense went to work in what was truly a team victory for the club from Iowa.

It wasn't a dynamic offensive performance from the Midwest, but it was efficient. The team scored five runs on just seven hits. JT Garcia and Kaiden Dinh each had two knocks. Garcia also provided the game's only homer in the fifth to pad the lead.

Jay Crawford of ESPN provided further context about one of the best moments the Little League World Series will see:

Anthony Soto had two hits for the West, which racked up just four as a team. JuJu Padilla drove in the only run as the California squad left eight men on base.

Just like Japan, the West must now come up big in the clutch. It can't afford another loss if it wants to reach the United States championship game and beyond.

Caribbean vs. Asia-Pacific

Runs in the first and last inning was all that was needed for Asia-Pacific as they downed the Caribbean 3-0 on Friday. 

Minho Choi led his team with a 2-for-2 effort at the plate while Asia-Pacific was carried by the arm of Junho Jeong. 

The young pitcher went four innings striking out 10 batters while allowing just three hits, putting Asia-Pacific into an early tie for first in the international bracket.

Great Lakes vs. Southwest

Unlike the game before, Great Lakes had no trouble plating runs in an 11-1 victory over the Southwest behind Devin Obee. 

He went 2-for-3 with an RBI at the plate while shutting down the Southwest on the hill. In five innings, Obee pitched five innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out seven. 

The lone blemish on his line came at the hands of Dominic Tellis, who launched a solo home run for the Southwest in the bottom of the first inning. 

A the time, he made it a 3-1 game, but the Great Lakes scored two in the second, one in the third and another five in the fifth to end the game early in the fifth inning. 

All game statistics are courtesy of the tournament's official site.