Little League World Series 2010: Thursday's Preview and Predictions

Before I get into today's preview and predictions, here are the scores from last night just in case you didn't get a chance to catch them.

Northwest (Auburn, WA) 7  Southwest (Pearland, TX) 4

Asia-Pacific (Koahsiung, Chinese Taipei) 5  Latin America (Chitre, Panama) 1

West (Waipahu, HI) 6  Great Lakes (Hamilton, OH) 4

The brackets are beginning to take shape as we get closer to the championship game. The winner from both brackets is still yet to be decided and, with two games on the schedule today, that picture will get a little bit clearer.

On the international side, the semi-final is set between Japan (Tokyo, Japan) and Asia-Pacific (Koahsiung, Chinese Taipei). As for the US side of things, there will be a rematch of a game from last night and another game where one team will need to win or have their ride come to an end.

Here are your previews and predictions for today's games.

Southeast (Columbus, GA) vs West (Waipahu, HI)

Game Time—7:00pm EDT @ Lamade Stadium

Breakdown:

The unbeaten Columbus squad is just one win away from a trip to the semi-final game and the right to take on the winner of Pool B between Pearland, Texas and Auburn, Washington.

Prediction: Southeast 5  West 4

Southwest (Pearland, TX) vs Northwest (Auburn, WA)

Game Time—4:00pm EDT @ Lamade Stadium

Breakdown:

Both of these teams are just one loss away from seeing their Little League World Series dreams come to an end. The Auburn, Washington squad has worked their way through the loser's bracket and have battled to have one more shot at continuing on. Pearland, Texas had a shot to move on to the semi-final last night against this same Auburn, Washington squad, but dropped a 7-4 decision that forces a rematch where the winner moves on and the loser goes home.

Prediction: Southwest 6  Northwest 5