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The Little League Baseball World Series opened play in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on Wednesday with four games, including two each from the United States and International brackets.
Dominant pitching was the day's theme, with Mexico and Asia-Pacific both tossing combined no-hitters and the West region earning a combined one-hitter.
Each side has 10 teams competing in a double-elimination tournament leading into the U.S. and International championships. The winners face off in the final on Sunday, Aug. 25.
Here's a look at the results, the latest bracket and game recaps and highlights.
Scores
Mexico (Tamaulipas) 2, Caribbean (Santa Cruz, Aruba) 0
West (Wailuku, Hawai'i) 3, New England (Salem, New Hampshire) 1
Asia-Pacific (Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei) 8, Canada (Surrey, British Columbia) 0
Southeast (Lake Mary, Florida) 2, Midwest (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) 1
Bracket
The entire bracket can be found on the official Little League Baseball World Series website.
Mexico 2, Caribbean 0
Antonio Guerrero struck out 11 batters over five innings and Raul Hernandez Jr. punched out two in the final frame as the two pitchers earned a combined no-hitter for Mexico in a 2-0 victory against Santa Cruz, Aruba, which is representing the Caribbean region.
Guerrero was sensational, scattering three walks over his five frames.
Mexico got on the board in the second inning after Ulises Ortiz singled and later scored on a groundout and then two wild pitches. The victors scored their second and final run in the fifth inning after Antonio Guerrero crossed home plate following a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch.
Naivmar Angela had a great day on the hill for Aruba, allowing just one earned run and two hits in five innings, striking out three.
Mexico now advances to play Latin America (Barquisimeto, Venezuela). Aruba will play the loser of the Cuba (Villa Clara) and Europe-Africa (Brno, Czech Republic) matchup in an elimination game.
West 3, New England 1
The West region (Hawai'i) scored three runs in the first inning and then got out of a based-loaded jam in the last inning to defeat New England (New Hampshire) 3-1.
Down 3-1, New England loaded the bases with two walks and a hit-by-pitch with one out in the sixth frame. The next batter smoked a screaming line drive to third base, but Eassie Miller snared the ball and quickly tapped third base to double off the runner for the final out.
West scored its three in the first off a Hayden Takahashi two-RBI single. Miller then added his own RBI single for the 3-0 lead.
To its credit, New England wiggled out of that jam to prevent further damage and didn't allow a run for the remainder of the game.
New England only had one hit as four West region pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts, including starter Evan Tavares with seven. But New England kept the pressure on by drawing six walks.
In the end, West earned the hard-fought victory and will now play Great Lakes (Hinsdale, Illinois). New England will play an elimination game against the loser of Southwest (Boerne, Texas) and Mid-Atlantic (Newtown, Pennsylvania).
Asia-Pacific 8, Canada 0
Lai Cheng-Xi led Asia-Pacific (Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei) to a combined no-hitter after throwing 4.2 perfect innings while striking out 10 in an 8-0 victory over Canada (Surrey, British Columbia).
TSN @TSN_SportsChinese Taipei has their 12th no-hitter of all time at the Little League World Series, the most of any country at the tournament, as they pull off an 8-0 victory over Team Canada. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LittleLeagueWorldSeries?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LittleLeagueWorldSeries</a> <a href="https://t.co/upybPtkriH">pic.twitter.com/upybPtkriH</a>
Ciou Zhi-Kai closed the door for Asia-Pacific, throwing 1.2 frames while striking out three and walking just one.
Asia-Pacific did all its scoring in two innings, posting five runs in the third and three in the fifth. The team drew eight walks and smacked five hits, with Yu Chia-Jui delivering the biggest blow, a bases-loaded double in the third to score all runners for a 5-0 edge.
Asia-Pacific now advances to play Australia (Sydney, New South Wales). Canada will play the loser of the Japan (Tokyo) vs. Puerto Rico (Guayama) matchup in an elimination game.
Southeast 2, Midwest 1
Southeast (Lake Mary, Florida) scratched out two runs in the top of the fifth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit and defeat Midwest (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) 2-1 to close the evening.
Two walks and a single loaded the bases with one out before Liam Morrisey hit an RBI single to tie the game at one. A Luis Calo sacrifice fly plated Garrett Rohozen for the game-winning run.
In the previous inning, Midwest loaded the bases with no out after two walks and a single. After two strikeouts, Ryan Henry smacked an RBI single to break the scoreless tie.
James Feliciano pitched a gem for Southeast, striking out 11 over 5.2 innings while allowing three walks, two hits and one earned run. Calo earned the save by striking out the final batter.
Southeast now advances to play Northwest (Puyallup, Washington). Midwest will play the loser of Metro (Staten Island, New York) vs. Mountain (Henderson, Nevada) in an elimination game.
