Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press The 2018 Little League World Series bracket was supposed to be set Saturday. Rain had other ideas. The United States finalized four of the six remaining representatives heading to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The Southeast and Southwest had already crowned a champion earlier this week. The Mid-Atlantic and New England regions had their games delayed because of rain. Here is a look at how every title game played out. Great Lakes Michigan def. Indiana, 13-0 Mid-Atlantic Delayed (rain) Midwest Iowa def. North Dakota, 7-4 New England Delayed (rain) Video Play Button Videos you might like Northwest Idaho def. Montana, 2-0 West Hawaii def. North California, 11-2 Great Lakes Indiana had two chances to stop Michigan. Both ended in huge defeats. Brennan Hill struck out nine over four innings of one-hit ball and hit a home run, leading Michigan to a 13-0 win over Indiana to take the Great Lakes region. Michigan outscored Indiana 27-2 in their two head-to-head games in the tournament. Hill was the true star Saturday, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs batted in while starring on the mound. He was responsible for two of Michigan's three extra-base hits. Jarren Purify went deep and drove in two runs, walking on three of his four plate appearances. Michigan finished the tournament winning three of its four games by double figures. Northwest Christopher Reynolds struck out 10 over five scoreless innings, and Braeden Newby had two hits, as Idaho earned a 2-0 win over Montana to capture the Northwest region. Alexander Currie closed the game out after Reynolds reached his pitch count total. Idaho scored both of its runs on gaffes by Montana. J Dannenberg scored on a wild pitch in the third inning, and Reynolds drove in a run on an error in the fifth. The two teams combined for just seven hits. Midwest Connor Duong hit a home run and a triple, and Brody Watson threw five innings of two-run ball, as Iowa advanced to the LLWS with a 7-4 win over North Dakota. Watson carried a 7-0 lead into the sixth inning before North Dakota made things interesting, getting two runs off him before adding another pair off Alex Stewart, who recorded the final three outs. Four of North Dakota's five hits came in the final inning. Iowa took full advantage of nearly every baserunner it got during the game, scoring seven runs on eight hits and leaving just three runners on base. Stewart went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in, and Watson had a two-run double. North Dakota did not have an extra-base hit in the entire game. West Aukai Kea struck out 13 batters over five innings, and Sean Yamaguchi drove in four runs, as Hawaii returned to the Little League World Series with an 11-2 victory over North California. Yamaguchi went 3-for-4 with a home run and two singles. His home run tied the game in the bottom of the first after North California scored two runs in the top half. The team never scored again, as Hawaii piled on 13 hits and never looked back after scoring on a walk in the third. Mana Lau Kong and Aukai Kea each had a pair of hits. Kong drove in two runs. Kea scattered just three hits across his five innings of work, mowing through the California lineup after struggling in the first. Yamaguchi came in and struck out the side to close the game out in the ninth.<doc-sep>Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press The Little League World Series is set after the final two United States teams earned their spots in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with wins Sunday. The Mid-Atlantic and New England regions were up for grabs on the final day of regional action, but while two teams advanced to the next stage, two saw their summers come to an end. Here is a look at the final games before the beginning of the Little League World Series on Thursday. Note: All stats and schedule information courtesy of the event's official site. Mid-Atlantic New York 4, Maryland 0 Gregory Bruno was great in his first start for New York last week, but he was perfect when his team needed it the most. The pitcher completed a perfect game Sunday, completing all six innings without allowing a baserunner while also striking out 12 of the 18 batters faced. Video Play Button Videos you might like Maryland had scored 35 runs in its last three games combined, but no one in the lineup could touch Bruno, who was incredible on the mound in one of the best performances this tournament has seen in a long time. Although the Staten Island squad didn't need much offense, Steven Martinez came through a two-RBI single in the third inning to give his side the lead. Derek Mendez had the only other RBI in the win. New York—which only allowed four total runs in four games while sweeping through the Mid-Atlantic region—proved it should be a top contender for the Little League World Series, especially when it is Bruno's time to start. New England Rhode Island 3, Massachusetts 2 After Massachusetts handed Rhode Island its first loss of the tournament on Wednesday, Coventry Little League got its revenge Sunday to clinch a win in the New England region. In a low-scoring battle, Jake Mather made the difference with a go-ahead home run in the top of the fifth inning: The shot to left field was one of three hits on the day for Mather, who finished 11-for-16 in five games during the regional tournament. Evan Blake had a strong effort on the mound for Massachusetts until that point and still only allowed three runs in five innings to go with eight strikeouts. Unfortunately, he took the hard-luck loss as his squad came home empty. Rhode Island will now advance to the LLWS for the fourth time in the last five years, per Morey Hershgordon of WPRI 12. Regional Representatives Great Lakes: Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores LL (Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan) Mid-Atlantic: Mid Island LL (Staten Island, New York) Midwest: Grandview LL (Des Moines, Iowa) New England: Coventry LL (Coventry, Rhode Island) Northwest: Coeur d’Alene LL (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) Southeast: Peachtree City American LL (Peachtree City, Georgia) Southwest: Post Oak LL (Houston, Texas) West: Honolulu LL (Honolulu, Hawaii)<doc-sep>Matt Slocum/Associated Press The field for the 2018 Little League World Series is now set, as 16 teams will battle it out for the title of champion. Williamsport, Pennsylvania, will play host to the event once again, with the field made up of eight teams from the United States and eight international teams. This year's tournament is set to begin on Thursday, August 16, with the championship game scheduled for August 26 when the top American team and the top international team will square off. Below is a look at the full schedule for the opening round of games: 2018 Little League World Series: Opening Round Date Game Time (ET) TV Aug. 16 Caribbean vs. Asia-Pacific 1 p.m. ESPN Aug. 16 Mid-Atlantic vs. Midwest 3 p.m. ESPN Aug. 16 Mexico vs. Australia 5 p.m. ESPN Aug. 16 New England vs. Southwest 7 p.m. ESPN2 Aug. 17 Europe-Africa vs. Japan 2 p.m. ESPN Aug. 17 Northwest vs. Great Lakes 4 p.m. ESPN Aug. 17 Latin America vs. Canada 6 p.m. ESPN Aug. 17 Southeast vs. West 8 p.m. ESPN www.littleleague.org Here's a quick rundown of what team will be representing each region at this year's event: 2018 Little League World Series Participants US Region Team Great Lakes Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan Mid-Atlantic Staten Island, New York Midwest Des Moines, Iowa New England Coventry, Rhode Island Northwest Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Southeast Peachtree City, Georgia Southwest Houston, Texas West Honolulu, Hawaii International Region Team Asia-Pacific Seoul, South Korea Australia Gold Coast, Queensland Canada Surrey, British Columbia Caribbean Guayama, Puerto Rico Europe-Africa Barcelona, Spain Japan Kawaguchi, Japan Latin America Arraijan, Panama Mexico Matamoros, Tamaulipas www.littleleague.org The tournament features a double-elimination format, though each team is guaranteed at least three games by way of the consolation bracket. It's worth noting the only time the bracket does not follow a double-elimination format is for the American and international finals. The slates are wiped clean for that matchup, and it's winner-take-all game to advance to the championship, so the team emerging from the loser's bracket doesn't need to win twice in a row. All 30 games will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks—ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC—with ABC playing host to the United States finals, international finals and championship games. Video Play Button Videos you might like Who will be crowned this year's Little League World Series champion? We'll soon find out.<doc-sep>
Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press The field is set for the 2018 Little League World Series, and this year's event will begin from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Thursday. The tournament is set up in a double-elimination format, with eight teams from the United States on one side of the bracket and eight international teams on the other side. Here's a look at this year's participants: 2018 Little League World Series Participants U.S. Region/Team Int. Region/Team Great Lakes/Grosse Pointe Woods, MI Asia-Pacific/Seoul, South Korea Mid-Atlantic/Staten Island, NY Australia/Gold Coast, Queensland Midwest/Des Moines, IA Canada/Surrey, British Columbia New England/Coventry, RI Caribbean/Guayama, Puerto Rico Northwest/Couer d'Alene, ID Europe-Africa/Barcelona, Spain Southeast/Peachtree City, GA Japan/Kawaguchi, Japan Southwest/Houston, TX Latin American/Arraijan, Panama West/Honolulu, HI Mexico/Matamoros, Tamaulipas www.littleleague.org The tournament opens with four games on Thursday—two on the American side of the bracket and two on the international side of the bracket. Here's all the necessary info for Thursday's action: Thursday's Schedule Matchup Time (ET) TV Guyama, Puerto Rico vs. Seoul, South Korea 1 p.m. ESPN Staten Island, New York vs. Des Moines, Iowa 3 p.m. ESPN Matamoros, Tamaulipas vs. Gold Coast, Queensland 5 p.m. ESPN Coventry, Rhode Island vs. Houston, Texas 7 p.m. ESPN2 www.littleleague.org Predictions The first game of the tournament will feature the Radames Lopez Little League team from Guayama, Puerto Rico, squaring off against the South Seoul Little League team. Minnesota Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario is an alumnus of the Radames Lopez team, which tallied three shutout wins during its 8-0 showing in the Caribbean Region Tournament. They'll take on a team from Seoul that also tossed three consecutive shutouts of their own during a 5-0 performance in the Asia-Pacific Region Tournament. We'll say the team from Seoul, who won the title in 2014, comes out on top. Next up will be the first game from the American side of the bracket, which pits the Mid-Island team from Staten Island, New York, against the Grandview team from Des Moines, Iowa. Video Play Button Videos you might like Gregory Bruno tossed a perfect game in the Mid-Atlantic Regional final for the Staten Island squad. With him on the mound in the opener, and an offense that outscored opponents 138-16 in their 12-0 run to clinch their spot in Williamsport, the Mid-Island squad looks to have a leg up. The third game pits Matamoros Little League from the Mexico Region against the Gold Coast Little League from the Australia Region in the second international matchup of the day. Oscar Hyde twirled a no-hitter in an 11-0 victory for the Gold Coast team in the regional finals, and we'll project a win for the Australia team in opening-round action. Thursday's matchups will conclude with Coventry Little League from the New England Region and Post Oak Little League from the Southwest Region battling it out. Jack Marrion of the Houston Chronicle wrote: "POLL is hardly new to postseason success, including a Southwest championship from its 2013 Intermediate all-stars. During a 15-year span ending in 2017, the organization won 23 district titles, 17 section championships, two sub-section championships (9-and-under) and seven state championships." So we'll give the team from Houston the advantage in the opener.