AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar
The Little League Baseball World Series continued on Wednesday from Williamsport, Pennsylvania with a quartet of games.
Asia-Pacific (Taipei, Taiwan) led the festivities with a 5-1 win over Mexico (Matamoros, Tamaulipas) to earn a berth in the International bracket championship game.
West (Honolulu, Hawaii) grabbed the first United States championship game bracket berth after a 13-0, four-inning victory over Southeast (Nolensville, Tennessee).
In elimination bracket action, Caribbean (Willemstad, Curacao) survived and advanced with a 7-2 win over Latin America (Managua, Nicaragua).
The same went for Southwest (Pearland, Texas), who used a trio of home runs against Mid-Atlantic (Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania) in an 8-4 elimination-game win.
Here's a look at all of the results on the day as the Little League World Series nears the championship rounds.
Wednesday, Aug. 24 Results
Asia-Pacific (Taipei, Taiwan) 5, Mexico (Matamoros, Tamaulipas) 1
West (Honolulu, Hawaii) 13, Southeast (Nolensville, Tennessee) 0
Caribbean (Willemstad, Curacao) 7, Latin America (Managua, Nicaragua) 2
Southwest (Pearland, Texas) 8, Mid-Atlantic (Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania) 4
Asia-Pacific 5, Mexico 1
Both teams scored a run in the first inning. A Wang Yuan-Fu double scored Tseng Yi-Che for the 1-0 Asia-Pacific lead, but Mexico responded with a Hernan Mireles double that plated Miguel Padilla.
Neither team crossed the plate in the second or third innings, but Asia-Pacific added a pair in the fourth after Li Fang-Mo scored on an error and Liao Yuan-Shu hit an RBI double to score Pai Cheng-Yen.
Mexico started a fifth-inning rally with runners on second and first with one out, but a flyout and strikeout ended the threat.
Asia-Pacific added two more insurance runs in the sixth inning. Catcher's obstruction led to the fourth run, and a Liao RBI groundout closed the scoring.
Three Asia-Pacific pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts, with Hsiao Chao-Hsun supplying four over three shutout frames.
Mexico can still make the International championship round for a rematch with Chinese Taipei. They can do so by beating Curacao in the elimination bracket matchup.
West 13, Southeast 0
West (Honolulu, Hawaii) won 13-0 over Southeast (Nolesville, Tennessee) in a four-inning game shortened by the run rule.
Cohen Sakamoto hit two home runs, including a first-inning grand slam to give West a 5-0 edge.
He added a solo shot in the second.
Kama Angell, Kekoa Payanal and Daly Watson also hit home runs for West, which has outscored the LLWS competition 42-1 in four games thus far. Jaron Lancaster, Watson and Sakamoto each scored three runs. Sakamoto's five RBI led the team.
Jonnovyn Sniffen started and threw two scoreless frames while striking out three and allowing two hits. Luke Hiromoto shut the door with two perfect innings.
Southeast is still alive and will face the winner of Mid-Atlantic vs. Southwest in an elimination bracket battle. The winner of the subsequent matchup will face Honolulu in the United States Championship Game.
Caribbean 7, Latin America 2
Davey-Jay Rijke struck out 15 batters while scattering four hits and two runs (one earned) en route to leading the Caribbean region representatives (Willemstad, Curacao) to a 7-2 win over Latin America (Managua, Nicaragua).
Rijke also starred at the plate with three hits (two doubles, one single), two runs and an RBI from the leadoff spot. Jay-Dlynn Wiel added a pair of hits (one double, one single) and two RBI in the win. Emery Hansen contributed a pair of runs and RBI too.
Curacao jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one and a 5-0 edge after two. A Rijke one-RBI double and a Hansen two-RBI single in back-to-back at-bats gave Curacao the 5-0 lead. Both of those players scored on a Wiel double in the fourth.
Luis Garcia hit a leadoff home run to start the sixth and final inning for Latin America. The team's other run occurred in the second inning, when Diego Gonsalez's single scored Marlon Chavez.
Curacao will now play Mexico, with the winner advancing to face Chinese Taipei in the International championship game.
Southwest 8, Mid-Atlantic 4
Manny Castillo, Kaiden Shelton and Jacob Zurek all smacked home runs for Southwest (Pearland, Texas) en route to an 8-4 win over Mid-Atlantic (Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania).
Zurek led the team with three runs and three hits on the evening. Shelton and Castillo added a pair of RBI apiece alongside Malachi Clark.
Southwest got the scoring going in the first with an Austin Cummings bases-loaded walk and a Clark two-RBI double. Mid-Atlantic responded with three runs of their own thanks to a Caleb Detrick sacrifice fly, a Beau Rabel RBI groundout and a Brody Dull RBI infield single.
Zurek smacked a go-ahead solo homer in the second for the 4-3 edge. Neither team scored again until the fifth, in part because Corey Khan robbed Braden Hatch of a game-tying homer.
That preserved the 4-3 lead, and Castillo hit a fifth-inning two-run blast to extend the advantage. In response, Mid-Atlantic put up one after a Braden Hatch RBI groundout.
Shelton then gave Southwest some insurance with a mammoth two-run homer for the 8-4 final.
Southwest will now play Southeast to determine West's opponent in the United States championship game.
