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In a game that lived up to its championship aura, Huntington Beach, CA, pushed across a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 2-1 win over Hamamatsu, Japan, to win the Little League World Series.

Huntington Beach became the second California team in three years to win the championship, emulating the feat achieved in 2009 by Chula Vista, CA. Overall, teams from California and Japan have each won seven LLWS championships.

Pitching was clearly front and center in this title contest. Huntington Beach’s Braydon Salzman went the distance, striking out nine while allowing only three hits. That effort was matched by Shoto Totsuka, who walked a thin line while allowing four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. Totsuka reached his pitch limit of 85 pitches and was relieved by Kazuto Takakura, who took the loss.

The strengths of the teams were on display in the third inning when each team scored their first run. Hamamatsu opened the top of the third inning when Seiya Fujita singled. Kaito Suzuki ran for Fujita. Totsuka laid down a sacrifice bunt and was thrown out at first base. Suzuki never stopped running, rounding second and dashing toward third base. A wild throw permitted Suzuki to score. The lead was short lived. Hagen Danner led off the bottom of the third with a home run to right center.

Both teams put several runners in scoring position without scoring. Hamamatsu had rallies in the fourth, fifth and sixth but could never get a key hit. Huntington Beach had threats in every inning before finally scoring again in the sixth.

Salzman opened the bottom of the sixth with a walk. Dylan Palmer followed with a single. Danner’s ground ball was misplayed to load the bases with one out. Salzman was thrown out at the plate on Trevor Windisch’s grounder. That set the stage for Nick Pratto. Pratto was the winning pitcher the previous day when Huntington Beach topped Billings, MT, to earn the right to play for the championship. He slapped a single up the middle to score Eric Anderson, who had run for Palmer, with the winning run.

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Saturday was a day for fortune reversals as Huntington Beach, CA, and Hamamatsu, Japan, earned the right to face each other Sunday in the Little League World Series championship game.

In the United States bracket, Huntington Beach clubbed Billings, MT, 11-2 to avenge an earlier 1-0 loss. In the International bracket, Hamamatsu downed Mexicali, Mexico, 5-2 to reverse a 3-2 loss earlier in the tournament.

In the unique lexicon that is the Little League, the Huntington Beach-Hamamatsu clash is a rematch of last year’s championship game, even though neither team was in the LLWS last year. The Little League recognizes regions, rather than teams, and the matchups, both this year and last, pit the Japan region champion against the West region champion. Last year, Japan was represented by Edogawa Minami LL, Tokyo, Japan, who won the championship 4-1 over West region representative, Waipio LL, Waipahu, Hawaii.

Huntington Beach rediscovers its offense
After winning its first two games 11-0 and 10-0, the Huntington Beach bats were strangely silent in the next two games – A 1-0 loss to Billings and a 2-0 win over Clinton County, PA. But the bats woke up in the second game against Billings.

Hagen Danner opened the game with a double, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Nick Pratto’s grounder. In the second inning, Ryo Takada was hit by a pitch and Dylan Palmer slammed a home run as the Californians scored more runs in the first two innings than they had in their last two games. Billings scored in the bottom of the second when Andy Maehl singled. A wild throw on a pickoff attempt allowed Maehl to advance to second base and an overthrow at second permitted him to score.

In the fourth inning, Pratto, the winning pitcher, doubled home Christian Catano and Justin Cianca to make the score 5-1. They added two more runs in the fifth as Braydon Salzman singled home a run and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Things really fell apart for Billings in the final inning when they surrendered four runs although Palmer’s single was the only Huntington Beach hit of the inning.

Cole McKenzie, a standout as a pitcher and at shortstop for Billings, drove a ball deep over the left field fence in the bottom of sixth for the final run.

Pratto pitched the first 5 1/3 innings for the winners, striking out 10 and allowing only three hits. Salzman and Trevor Windisch each got an out to close the game.

Huntington Beach was the runner-up to Waipahu, HI, in the West region last year and hopes to duplicate the feat of Chula Vista, CA, who won the 2009 LLWS.

Hamamatsu rides Suzuki to the win
Yoshiki Suzuki has been Hamamatsu’s best player. He leads the tournament in RBIs with 10 and is tied for the home run lead with 3. But against Mexicali, it was his pitching that dominated as he won his second game of the tournament. Suzuki scattered seven hits, surviving an early scare in the first inning, to lead his team into the championship game.

In the bottom of the first inning, Daniel Guillen singled and went to third on a single by Alonzo Garcia. That brought up Bruno Ruiz, who had singled to beat Hamamatsu in their previous meeting. But Suzuki induced a grounder that ended the threat.

Mexicali was outhit in this game, but it was some uncharacteristically poor defense that aided Hamamatsu’s hitters. In the third inning, Gaishi Iguchi led off with a single. Seiya Fujita followed with a double to drive in the first run of the game. Fukita then continued around the bases to score on a wild throw. It was more of the same in the fourth inning as Asuya Otsuka singled and was able to reach third base on a Mexicali misplay. Two outs later, Kaito Suzuki singled him in. Kaito Suzuki then scored on a double by Mitsuhiro Uchida to make the score 4-0.

Mexicali finally scored on Yoshiki Suzuki in the fourth inning. Garcia led off with a double and scored two outs later on a Hamamatsu error.

Both teams scored a run in the fifth inning. Yoshiki Suzuki led off with a single for the winners and eventually scored on Otsuka’s single. Jorge Jacobo, the losing pitcher, tripled home Carlos Arellano to make it 5-2. Jacobo was later thrown out at the plate to end the rally.

Hamamatsu goes into the championship game as the defending champion, because they represent the region of last year’s champion.

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Huntington Beach, CA, and Hamamatsu, Japan, won berths in their respective bracket finals, setting up rematches of two of the best played games of the Little League World Series.

Huntington Beach will play Billings, MT, in the United States bracket final. In their previous meeting, Billings won 1-0 in seven innings, becoming the only team to score against Huntington Beach’s strong pitching. Hamamatsu gets a chance to avenge a 3-2 loss to Mexicali, Mexico, in the final of the International bracket.

United States bracket
Huntington Beach, CA 2, Clinton County, PA 0

International bracket
Hamamatsu, Japan 9, Maracay, Venezuela 6

How the games were won

Powerful pitching prevails
Huntington Beach has allowed only one run in four games and their pitchers did nothing Thursday to mar that record. Hagen Danner pitched the first 5 1/3 innings, striking out 12 while allowing only three hits. Braydon Salzman got the final two outs. Danner was also the hitting star of the game, banging out three of his team’s five hits, including a home run in the third inning to break the scoreless tie. The winners added an insurance run in the fourth inning when Christian Catano doubled and scored on a single by Ryo Takada.

Alex Garbrick, the starting pitcher for Clinton County, got two of his team’s four hits. Clinton County managed only one runner past first base. In the fifth inning Wyatt Koch singled and advanced to second and third on wild pitches. But he was stranded at third base.

The victory sets up a rematch for Huntington Beach with Billings, MT. Billings rode Ben Askelson’s home run to a seven inning 1-0 victory in their first meeting.

A barrage of big flies
Hamamatsu blasted three home runs on their way to the win over Maracay. Yoshiki Suzuki hit a pair of homers to drive in three runs and winning pitcher Kazuto Takakura clubbed a three-run homer. Hamamatsu opened the scoring in the third inning. Mitsuhiro Uchida singled and scored on Ken Igeta’s double. Suzuki followed with his first homer to make it 3-0. Takakura’s homer in the fourth made it 6-0. Suzuki opened the fifth inning with his solo shot for what proved to be the winning run. Hamamatsu added another run in the fifth when Takuya Okamoto walked, advanced on a single by Gaishi Iguchi, and scored on an error.

It looked like Hamamatsu had salted away the win with an 8-0 lead, but Maracay mounted a furious rally in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs to get back into the game. Numa Rodriguez and Keyber Cardozo opened the inning with singles. Yonny Hernandez walked to load the bases. Carlos Narvaez singled home Rodriguez and Cardozo and Hernandez scored on an error. Elio Narvaez homered to make it 8-5.

Suzuki scored on Iguchi’s single in the sixth inning for the winner’s ninth run. Maracay made one last push in the bottom of the sixth. Wilson Alvarez led off with a single. Cardozo singled him to second and Hernandez drove him in. That brought the tying run to the plate with only one out, but reliever Iguchi struck out the next two hitters to preserve Hamamatsu’s win.

Hamamatsu has followed the most difficult path to the finals of the bracket. Their loss to Mexicali, 3-2 in seven innings, in the second game sent them into the losers bracket, where they have had to play two more games than Mexicali to reach the finals of the International bracket.

Japan’s representative last year won the LLWS, so Hamamatsu, because it represents the same region, is technically the defending champion.

Friday is a day off, with the bracket winners decided in Saturday’s games.

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Wednesday was the day when the four remaining undefeated teams faced off. Pitching was the name of the game as Billings, MT, and Mexicali, Mexico, remained undefeated in two games that both went to extra innings. Solo home runs broke up both games.

United States bracket
Billings, MT 1, Huntington Beach, CA 0 (7 innings)

International bracket
Mexicali, Mexico 2, Maracay, Venezuela 1 (9 innings)

How the games were played:
We’re talking serial heroes with the bat in both games.

Ben’s big blow
Ben Askelson broke up the scoreless tie between Billings and Huntington Beach by leading off in the bottom of the seventh inning with a home run. That’s the same Ben Askelson whose two-run double led Billings to a 3-1 win over Lafayette, LA. Cole McKenzie pitched the first 5 2/3 innings and allowed the Californians only three hits. Sean Jones skated with danger in the final 1 1/3 inning, walking three but not allowing a run. Nick Pratto pitched well for Huntington Beach, striking out 9 in his four innings of work. Braydon Salzman hurled two scoreless innings before being touched by Askelson for the home run.

Huntington Beach loaded the bases in the second inning, but had Justin Cianca thrown out at the plate trying to score after a pitch got away from catcher Andy Maehl. Huntington Beach threatened again in the third inning when Hagen Danner led off with a single and moved around to third base, but his teammates couldn’t bring him home. Both teams moved a runner to third in the fourth inning without being able to score. Dylan Palmer led off with a single for Huntington Beach and reached third, but was stranded there. Billings’ McKenzie doubled in support of his own cause and Askelson moved him to third, but he was left there.

Jones flirted with danger in the top of the sixth when he walked two and hit a batter to load the bases, but he escaped unscathed. Patrick Zimmer doubled for Billings in the bottom of the sixth, but was thrown out at third trying to advance on a grounder to the right side.

Askelson’s homer in the seventh was the first run scored against Huntington Beach in the tournament and ended a string of 16 consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Huntington Beach hurlers.

Huntington Beach will play Clinton County, PA, for the right to challenge Billings for the United States bracket championship.

Bruno’s big blow
Bruno Ruiz homered in the ninth inning to break up a 1-1 tie that had existed since the first inning. It was Ruiz’s second game-winning hit. His single knocked in the winning run against Hamamatsu, Japan, in the seventh inning.

Mexicali scored in the top of the first when Jorge Jacobo reached base on an error and later scored on a single by Alonso Garcia. Maracay answered in the bottom of the first. Albaro Gaince was hit by a pitched and scored on Yonny Hernandez’s double. That was all the scoring until Ruiz homered in the ninth.

Mexicali got superb pitching from Carlos Arellano, who went the first 7 1/3 innings, allowing only four hits while striking out 11. He was relieved by Jacobo, who retired all five batters he faced to earn his second win of the tournament. Maracay starter Keny Marquez was equally effective in his six innings of work, yielding four hits while striking out seven. Wilson Alvarez pitched a scoreless inning. Hernandez, the Maracay hitting star with seven RBIs in three games, was touched for Ruiz’s home run during his 1 1/3 innings on the mound. Gaince pitched the final 2/3 of an inning.

Maracay threatened in the third inning when Keyber Cardozo tripled with one out, but was left stranded. In the bottom of the sixth, Maracay’s Elio Narvaez led off with a double and Hernandez was given his second intentional walk of the game. Mexicali’s second double play of the game ended the threat.

Mexicali mounted a threat in the top of the seventh. Alvaro Valdez singled and Kenet Delgado walked. With two outs, Arellano made a bid to win his own game with a single, but Valdez was thrown out at the plate trying to score.

Maracay will face Hamamatsu, Japan, to determine who will challenge Mexicali in the International bracket championship game.

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The elimination phase of the Little League World Series continued, with two more teams knocked out. Wednesday’s games will feature the remaining undefeated teams squaring off.

United States bracket
Clinton County, PA 7, Warner Robins, GA 5

International bracket
Hamamatsu, Japan 4, Langley, Canada 0

Consolation game
Cumberland, RI 8, Rotterdam, Netherlands 7

How the games played out
The first inning had most of the fireworks in this game. Warner Robins opened the game with three runs that seemed to set the tone for the game. Logan Arnett and Austin Burnette singled. Josh Goodman tripled them both home and then scored on Jordan Hampton’s single. Clinton County responded with six runs of their own to essentially settle the contest before the first inning was over. Brandon Miller singled, Alex Garbrick was hit with a pitch and Talon Falls singled to load the bases with no outs. Landon Breon singled home two runs and Cole Reeder’s ground out drove in Falls with the tying run. One out later, Trebor Nicodemus singled home Breon to put the Pennsylvanians ahead for good. Mitchell Smith ran for Nicodemus and came around to score on a series of wild pitches. Mike Keibler walked and eventually scored when Miller, batting for the second time in the inning, singled him home. In the third inning, Smith singled and scored on Garbrick’s double to close out the Pennsylvanian’s scoring. Warner Robins closed to within two runs in the fourth when Jake Fromm, hero of the previous day’s nine-inning extravaganza, slammed his third homer of the series with Arnett on base. The Georgians loaded the bases in the fifth, but Tyler McCloskey came on in relief for Clinton County and struck out the next hitter to get out of the inning. Warner Robins put the tying runs on base in the sixth inning, but McCloskey again escaped without surrendering a run.

Three Hamamatsu pitchers combined for the shutout against Langley, with the second pitcher, Hiroyasu Sugiura, getting credit for the win. The winners slammed three extra base hits while scoring three runs in the third inning to break the scoreless tie. With two outs, Kazuto Takakura walked. Ken Igeta doubled to score Kaito Suzuki, who had run for Takakura. Yoshiki Suzuki doubled to score Igeta and came home on a triple by Asuya Otsuka. Hamamatsu’s final run came in the fourth inning when Kaito Suzuki singled and scored on Gaishi Iguchi’s triple. Langley put two runners on base in each of the first, third and sixth innings, but could never push a run across the plate. Nick Atkinson had three hits for the losers.

Unlike the Warner Robins-Clinton County game, where most of the fireworks came in the first inning, Rotterdam and Cumberland waited until the final inning to tee off, each scoring five runs in the sixth. Cumberland opened the scoring in the third inning when Ryan McCormick reached on an error and Jacob Glod tripled him home. Glod scored on a wild pitch. Cumberland added a run in the fourth when Max Hanuschak singled, went to third on a double by Christopher Wright, and scored on a wild pitch. Rotterdam retaliated with a pair of runs in the fifth to close the game to 3-2 and set up the wild finish. Bram Dolman and Tim van Toorn walked and Angelo Wicklert was hit with a pitch to load the bases. Phayson Antonia was safe on a fielder’s choice with Dolman scoring. Van Toorn scored when Darryl Jamoena was hit with a pitch. In the sixth inning, consecutive walks to Robert van de Koppel, Diamond Silberie, Christopher Gijsbers and Van Toorn pushed home the tying run. Wicklert’s sacrifice fly scored Silberie. Antonia then unloaded a three-run homer that seemed to salt the game away. But Cumberland had different ideas. Conner Mastin singled and eventually scored on Hanuschak’s single. Wright reached base on an error and Conor Lavallee singled to load the bases. Colin Cannata was hit by a pitch to force in one run and when James Belisle was safe on an error, two runs scored to tie the game. Cannata then scored the winning run on an error.

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Another four teams took it on the chin, cutting the field in half. The undefeated teams – Huntington Beach, CA, and Billings, MT, in the United States bracket, and Mexicali, Mexico, and Maracay, Venezuela – had Monday and Tuesday off while the rest of teams struggled to stay alive … each facing elimination with a loss. Monday’s results:

United Stated bracket
Warner Robins, GA 8, La Grange, KY 5 (9 innings)
Clinton County, PA 10, Lafayette, LA 0 (4 innings)

International bracket
Langley, Canada 5, Ching-Tang, Taipei 3
Hamamatsu, Japan 13, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 4

Consolation game
Oranjestad, Aruba 5, Rapid City, SD 0

How the games played out:
Warner Robins scored five runs in the third inning to take a quick lead over La Grange. The Kentucky squad, facing elimination, battled back to tie the game in the fifth inning and two relief pitchers, Jake Fromm for Warner Robins and Travis Faith for La Grange, matched pitch for pitch until the ninth. Fromm pitched 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball and delivered the three-run homer in the ninth that sealed the game. Faith and Griffin McLarty homered for the losers. Warner Robins will meet Clinton County, PA, Tuesday in an elimination game. La Grange was eliminated.

Clinton County’s Landon Breon and Brandon Miller combined to pitch a no-hitter against Lafayette in a game shortened to four innings. He benefitted from a huge offensive outburst, with Clinton County scoring three runs in the first inning and seven more runs in the second. Breon, the winning pitcher, helped his own cause by driving in three runs. Alex Garbrick and Wyatt Koch each drove in two runs. Miller, who got the last two outs of the game, led off the game with a home tun. Lafayette’s tournament is over. Clinton County faces Warner Robins Tuesday in an elimination game.

Langley, Canada, and Ching-Tang, Taipei, waged a fierce battle in their elimination game. Langley jumped on top with two runs in the first inning and another in the second inning, only to see Ching-Tang tally three runs in the third inning to knot the score. Langley pushed across an unearned run in the fourth inning to take the lead and winning pitcher Yi-An Pan provided the insurance run with a sixth inning homer. Ching-Tang was eliminated even though they outhit Langley 9-6; they were undone by errors. Chen-Tso Tseng had three hits for the losers; no one else on either team had more than one hit. Langley will face Hamamatsu, Japan, Tuesday in an elimination game.

Hamamatsu, Japan, broke open a tight game with Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, with eight runs in the sixth inning. The winners broke on top with three runs in the top of the second inning, thanks to a double from Asuya Otsuka, only to see Dhahran tally four runs in the bottom of that inning on doubles by Brandon Carswell and Jordan Hajazin and singles by Julian Kinney and Bradlee Sumner. Hamamatsu edged ahead 5-4 with two runs in the fourth inning, setting up the sixth inning explosion. Ryota Matsushita relieved for Hamamatsu in the third inning and shut out Dhahran the rest of the way to earn the victory. Sotaro Yoshida started the big inning with a solo home run and later singled to drive in two other runs. Dhahran is eliminated; Hamamatsu will face Langley, Canada, Tuesday in an elimination game.

In the consolation game, Gillian Wernet threw a four-hit shutout while striking out 12 for Oranjestad, Aruba. His performance was especially noteworthy because the Rapid City team had clubbed four home runs in their two championship bracket games. Albert Pop led the winners with two hits and drove in two runs.

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The winning teams from the first two days of the Little League World Series were pitted against each other on this day. The results:

United States bracket
Billings, MT 3, Lafayette, LA 1
Huntington Beach, CA 10, La Grange, KY 0 (4 innings)

International bracket
Maracay, Venezuela 8, Langley, Canada 0
Mexicali, Mexico 3, Hamamatsu, Japan, 2 (7 innings)

How they reached this point
Billings, MT, won the Northwest Region. They defeated Rapid City, SD, in their first game, behind a four-run rally in the fourth inning. Conner Kieckbusch smacked a two-run single and winning pitcher Cole McKenzie cracked a two-run double. Kieckbusch quelled two Rapid City rallies with great defensive plays. Patrick Zimmer shut out Lafayette, LA, for five innings to get the win in their second game. Ben Askelson broke the scoreless tie with a third inning two-run double. Ian Leatherberry doubled home an insurance run in the 3-1 win.

Lafayette, LA, won the Southwest Region. In their opening game, they defeated Warner Robins, GA, 2-0. Brad Hines pitched five shutout innings. Haden Erbe relieved with the bases loaded in the sixth and retired the side to save the win. Tyler Miller got the key hit, a fourth-inning triple. He scored on a squeeze bunt. Against Billings in the second game, Erbe started and held the Northwest champs to two runs. But his mates were unable to instigate any rally as they fell, 3-1.

Huntington Beach, CA, won the West Region. They bounced Cumberland, RI, 11-0 in their first game. Braydon Salzman, the first of three pitchers contributing to the shutout, helped himself at the plate, driving in one run and scoring three runs. Hagen Danner went 2-4 with a triple and Trevor Windisch drove in three runs. Danner was the winning pitcher as they clubbed La Grange, KY, 10-0 in four innings. Nick Pratto and Ryo Takada each drove in two runs and doubled. Salzman and Jason Mayorga added two hits each.

La Grange, KY, won the Great Lakes Region. Pitcher Griffin McLarty did it all in their first game 1-0 win over Clinton County, PA. McLarty hit a first-inning homer for the only run of the game and proceeded to strike out 12. He benefitted from a strong defense that threw two runners out trying to score. Without McLarty on the mound, they didn’t fare so well against Huntington Beach, CA, losing 10-0 in four innings.

Maracay, Venezuela won the Latin America Region. They’ve had great pitching in both their wins, topping Rotterdam, Netherlands, 6-1 in their first game and shutting out Canada 8-0. Keny Marquez was the winning pitcher against Rotterdam. He benefited from the slugging of Omar Conoropo Jr., who hit a home run and drove in three runs, and Yonny Hernandez, who knocked in two runs. Jothson Flores was the first of three pitchers who combined for the 8-0 shutout against Langley, Canada. Hernandez came up big with the bat again, slamming two home runs and driving in four runs. Neil Prieto hit a solo home run.

Langley, British Columbia, won the Canada Region. They dug themselves a big hole in their first game, giving up a five-run inning to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, but stormed back to win 6-5 with the help of a four-run final inning. Cole Cantelon went 3-3 and drove in three runs to pace the Canadians. He also pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to get the win. They were completely stymied by the Maracay, Venezuela, pitchers in their 8-0 second game loss.

Hamamatsu won the Japan Region. Edogawa Minami LL, Tokyo, won the 2010 LLWS, so Hamamatsu is representing the region as defending champion. They lived up to that notice in their first game 12-1 drubbing of Aruba. Pitcher Yoshiki Suzuki hit a grand slam homer. Mitsuhiro Uchida had three hits and drove in three runs.

Mexicali, Baja California, won the Mexico Region. In their first game, pitcher Jorge Jacobo shut out the strong Ching-Tang, Taipei, team 3-0. It was the first time in 55 games that a Taipei representative had been whitewashed. Jacobo struck out 12 and helped his cause with a double, an RBI and a run scored.

The game of the LLWS (so far) Mexicali 3, Hamamatsu 2 (7 innings)
In 2010, the representatives of Japan and Mexico battled to the wire before the Japanese team triumphed. The renewal of this rivalry, with different teams representing the two regions, met expectations.

Hamamatsu scored twice in the first inning. Matsuhiro Uchido opened the game with a single and came around to score on misplays of Yoshiki Suzuki’s grounder. Kaito Suzuki ran for Yoshiki Suzuki and scored when Selya Fugita’s grounder was misplayed.

Mexicali evened the game in the second inning. Victor Bejarano doubled home Ulises Rodriguez with the first run. Kenet Delgado scored the tying run on Carlos Arrellano’s grounder.

Yoskiki Suzuki and Mexicali’s Alonso Garcia matched pitches from the second inning on. In the bottom of the seventh, Jorge Jacobo singled and came around to score on a single by Bruno Ruiz. The Mexicali win evened the score for last year’s defeat by Mexico’s team in the International bracket finals against the Japan team.

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The double elimination facet of the Little League World Series took its toll Saturday as four teams suffered their second loss and were eliminated from championship contention. Rapid City, SD, and Cumberland, RI, dropped out of the United States bracket. Orengestad, Aruba, and Rotterdam, Netherlands, dropped out of the International bracket. Saturday’s results:

United States bracket
Warner Robins, GA 6, Rapid City, SD 3
Clinton County, PA 2, Cumberland, RI 0

International Bracket
Ching-Tang LL, Chinese Taipei 20, Orengestad, Aruba 3
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 4, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2

How the teams reached this point
Warner Robins, GA, won the Southeast Region. They were shutout by Lafayette, LA, in their first game (2-0), even though they left nine runners on base, They quickly remedied that shortcoming against Rapid City, scoring three runs in the first inning on Jake Fromm’s home run on their way to a 6-3 victory. Fromm drove in four runs and Logan Morris drove in two more. Pitcher Logan Arnett held Rapid City scoreless until the final inning.

Rapid City, SD, won the Midwest Region. They brought big bats to the LLWS, hitting four home runs in their two games. Erik Petry had two homers and Hayden McGriff added a homer in their first game loss (6-4) to Billings, MT, but all three came with the bases empty. After trailing Warner Robins throughout their second game, they put on a fierce last inning rally in an attempt to salvage their title hopes. McGriff knocked in one run and Brett Beyer slammed a two-run homer, but it was not enough as they lost 6-3.

Clinton County, PA, won the Mid-Atlantic Region. Just a short drive from the Wilmington, DE, site of the LLWS. Their fans packed the stadium to more than 40,000 spectators in each of their games. That vocal support failed them in their first round game against La Grange, KY. The Keystone team had two runners thrown out at the plate in their 1-0 loss. They struck early against Cumberland, RI, in the second game. Brandon Miller walked, to lead off the first inning, advanced on a wild pitch and a passed ball and scored on pitcher Alex Garbrick’s single. That was the only run Garbrick needed in the 2-0 win. Cole Reeder started the opener against La Grange and allowed a run in the first inning, so Clinton County pitchers now have a string of 11 scoreless innings as they move on.

Cumberland, RI, won the New England Region. Their bats went silent in the LLWS, falling to Huntington Beach, CA, 11-0 in their first game before being stifled by Clinton County, PA, 2-0.

Ching-Tang LL, Chinese Taipei, won the Asia-Pacific Region. They became the first Taipei representative in 55 LLWS games to be shutout when they lost their first game 3-0 to Mexicali, Mexico. They took their frustration out on Aruba in their second game, scoring 20 runs in a game abbreviated to four innings. Chi-Ling Hsu hit two doubles while driving in five runs. Chin-Hao Yang went 4-4, scored three runs and drove in two. Winning pitcher Yu-Kuan Wu went 3-3 with two doubles, scored three runs and knocked in two. He pitched three scoreless innings. Shih-Lung Chen added a home run.

Orengestad, Aruba, ran into two Asian buzz saws, dropping their first game to Hamamatsu, Japan 11-1, before suffering the 20-3 loss to Ching-Tang, Taipei. Endry Brito had an RBI in each game.

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, won the Middle East-Africa Region. In their first game, they took a 5-2 lead against Langley, Canada, then saw the Canadians rally for a 6-5 win. Tanner Beachy had an RBI double and subsequently stole home, but it was not enough. Dhahran jumped to a 3-0 lead against Rotterdam, Netherlands, and made it stand up in their 4-2 win. They scored two runs in the first inning without a hit as a walk and an error put the first two batters on base and Dylan Ell and Beachy followed with RBI groundouts. Tyler Wilkins relieved in the bottom of the sixth with the tying runs in scoring position and only one out and proceeded to strike out the next two batters to preserve the win.

Rotterdam, Netherlands, won the Europe Region. They were never able to mount the kind of offense needed to overcome Maracay, Venezuela, in the first game 6-1 loss or in their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Against Dhahran, they fell behind 3-0, but closed the gap to 3-2 on a two-run double by Marijn Jeisma. They had the tying runs on base in each of the last two innings, but couldn’t push the runners across.

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The second day of the Little League World Series is complete. The results:

United States bracket:
Ocean View LL, Huntington Beach, CA 11, Cumberland American LL, Cumberland, RI 0
North Oldham LL, La Grange, KY 1, Keystone LL, Clinton County, PA 0

International bracket
Langley LL, Langley, British Columbia, Canada 6, Arabian American LL, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 5
Gran Maracay LL, Maracay, Venezuela 6, Rotterdam LL, Rotterdam, Netherlands 1

How the teams reached the World Series:
Langley LL won the Canada Region.
Arabian American LL won the MEA Region.
Gran Maracay LL won the Latin America Region.
Rotterdam LL won the Europe Region.

North Oldham LL, North Oldham, KY, won the Great Lakes Region after losing its first game in the regional tournament to the Ohio champions, West Side LL, Hamilton, OH, 6-0. They won their next three games to earn a semifinal berth, where they defeated the Michigan champion, Grosse Pointe Park LL, 8-0. That set up a rematch with West Side; and North Oldham reversed the previous decision, winning 3-0 to advance to the World Series.

Keystone LL, Clinton County, PA, went undefeated in winning the Mid=Atlantic Region. They shut out the New York champion, Great Kills American LL, Staten Island, 3-0. In the finals, they bested Paramus LL, Paramus, the New Jersey champion, 5-2 to earn their spot in the World Series.

Ocean View LL, Huntington Beach, CA, swept the West Region, going undefeated. In the semifinals, they downed Washington LL, Washington, UT, the Utah champion, 5-0. They survived a 2-1 pitchers’ duel to nip Red Bluff LL, Red Bluff, their Northern California rivals, to advance to the World Series.

Cumberland American LL, Cumberland, RI, had the most difficult time of any regional champion in winning the New England Region. They were shut out twice in the early games, 8-0 by Goffstown Junior Baseball LL, Goffstown, the New Hampshire champion and 3-0 by Fairfield American LL, Fairfield, the Connecticut champion. In the semifinals, Cumberland was again matched with Fairfield, but this time they prevailed by an 8-7 count. In the championship game, they outslugged Andover National LL, Andover, the Massachusetts champion, 13-7, to punch their ticket to the World Series.

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The games of the first day of the Little League World Series are complete. The results:

United States bracket
Billings LL, MT 6, Harney LL, Rapid City, SD 4
Lafayette LL, LA 2, Warner Robins American LL, GA 0

International bracket
Seguro Social LL, Mexicali, Mexico 3, Ching-Tang LL, Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei 0
Hamamatsu Minami LL, Hamamatsu City, Japan 12, Aruba North LL, Oranjestad, Aruba 1

How the teams reached the World Series:

Seguro Social won the Mexico Region.
Ching-Tang won the Asia-Pacific Region.
Hamamatsu Minami won the Japan Region.
Aruba North won the Caribbean Region.

Billings, MT, won the Northwest Region. They lost their second game in the regional tournament to the Oregon champion, Bend South LL, 10-6. They won their next two games to earn a semi-final berth against Lewiston LL, the Idaho champion. Billings won 6-2 to earn a rematch with Bend South. Billings prevailed 7-1 to earn the World Series berth.

Harney LL of Rapid City, SD, also lost one game on the way to the Midwest Region championship. After clinching a semifinal berth, Harney lost 12-8 to the Minnesota champion, Centennial Lakes West LL. Harney downed the Missouri champion, Webb City LL, 7-2 in the semifinals and bested the Nebraska champion, Kearney LL, 4-2, to advance to the World Series.

Lafayette LL, Lafayette, LA, was undefeated in winning the Southwest Region. They defeated the New Mexico champion, Altamont LL of Albuquerque, 12-6 in the semifinals. Lafayette nipped Pearland Maroon LL, the Texas East champion, 8-7, to earn the trip to the World Series.

Warner Robins American LL, Warner Robins, GA, also went undefeated in winning the Southeast Region championship. They shut out the West Virginia champion, Fairmont LL, 7-0, in the semifinals. In the finals, they topped New Tampa LL, the Florida champion, 4-2 to advance to the World Series.

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