Little League World Series 2018: Friday Scores, Bracket Results and Highlights

Day 2 of action at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Friday featured four games split between the United States and International brackets.

On the American side, Northwest, Great Lakes, Southeast and West took the diamond, while Europe-Africa, Japan, Latin American and Canada battled for supremacy in the International half.

After a rain delay-filled day in Williamsport, here is a full rundown of scores as well as a closer look at precisely how each game played out.

LLWS Friday Results/Schedule

Japan def. Europe-Africa, 11-1

Great Lakes def. Northwest, 5-4

Latin America def. Canada, 8-3

West def. Southeast, 2-0 (11 innings)

LLWS Bracket

Full bracket results available at LittleLeague.org.

LLWS Friday Recap

Japan 11, Europe-Africa 1

Kawaguchi Little League from Kawaguchi, Japan, overcame a slow start Friday to beat Catalunya Little League from Barcelona, Spain, 11-1 in five innings.

Japan was anchored by starting pitcher Shisei Fujimoto, who finished with five hits and one run allowed with no walks and 10 strikeouts over five innings.

While Fujimoto ended with a fantastic line, he struggled out of the gates.

After center fielder Lucas Iriarte tripled with two outs in the top of the first inning, he scored on a passed ball to give Europe-Africa a surprising 1-0 lead.

Japan tied it in the bottom of the second, and that score remained intact until the bottom of the fourth inning when Japan scored a pair of runs on a Kenji Takada single followed by an error on the part of left fielder Rafael Lopez.

From that point forward, the floodgates opened for heavily favored Japan.

The Japanese squad tacked on an additional eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, which was extended by the second rain delay of the game.

Eleven Japanese players had at least one hit in the contest, but outfielder Yuya Ito was the biggest standout with two hits in two at-bats and three RBI.

Thanks to its victory, Japan will take on the winner of Latin America vs. Canada in the winner's bracket on Sunday, while Europe-Africa will meet the loser of the Latin American vs. Canada game on Saturday.

Great Lakes 5, Northwest 4

The squad from Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, trailed 4-1 entering the bottom of the sixth inning, but a stellar rally saved the Great Lakes representatives from opening their stay in Williamsport 0-1. 

Michigan started the final inning with a double, three walks and a single to knot the score at four with no outs, and Ryan Knaebel solidified the result for his side with a walk-off single into left field. 

Prior to that comeback, the Northwest representatives from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, appeared headed for the win column behind a terrific outing from starting pitcher Christopher Reynolds.

Reynolds, who threw 85 pitches, scattered three hits and registered 11 strikeouts while recording a single walk over 4.2 innings of work. 

The Northwest will hope to stay alive Saturday night, while the Great Lakes will be off until Sunday afternoon. 

Latin America 8, Canada 3

Panama started fast and didn't let up as it secured an 8-3 win over Canada on Friday night. 

After Panama broke out for three runs in the first inning, Adan Sanchez doubled his side's lead with one swing of the bat in the second inning when he slammed a three-run home run to left field: 

As it turns out, that was all the cushion they needed with Brian Villarreal on the mound. 

Villarreal struck out seven Canadian batters of 3.2 innings, and he allowed a single hit before he was lifted in favor of Carlos Arcia. 

Sanchez capped off his evening by striking out the side in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

Canada will take on Europe-Africa Saturday, while the Latin American side will hope to come up with a second straight win in a titanic showdown with Japan on Sunday. 

West 2, Southeast 0 

Walk-offs were all the rage Friday night. 

Just ask Aukai Kea, who snared a win for Honolulu Little League with a game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning against the Southeast squad hailing from Peachtree City, Georgia. 

Prior to that clutch swing, Hawaii managed seven hits against a stout Peachtree City pitching staff that racked up 18 strikeouts. 

Hawaii's pitchers were superb in their own right, and it all began with Kea. All told, Honolulu's hero scattered two hits and struck out 10 batters across 6.1 innings. 

The bullpen combination of Ka'olu Holt and Sean Yamaguchi picked up where Kea left off and combined to allow two hits and register six strikeouts to keep things scoreless entering the 11th. 

Hawaii's quest will continue Sunday against Michigan. Peachtree City, meanwhile, will hope to avoid an early trip home Saturday when it clashes with a strong outfit from Idaho.