The 2023 Little League World Series kicked off Wednesday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with eight of the 20 teams in action on the tournament’s opening day.
Teams from the Mountain (Nevada) and Metro (Rhode Island) regions battled for the chance to advance in the double-elimination tournament and clinch a spot against the Southeast region (Tennessee) in the next round while teams from the Southwest (Texas) and Mid-Atlantic (Pennsylvania) squared off for the opportunity to take on the Midwest (North Dakota) in the next round.
On the international side of the bracket, teams from Panama and Europe-Africa (Czech Republic) played for a chance to play Latin America (Venezuela) in the next round, and teams from Japan and Cuba battled for a chance to play Mexico in the next round.
Here’s a recap of Wednesday’s action.
Wednesday Scores
Panama (Santiago de Veraguas, Panama) def. Europe-Africa (Brno, Czech Republic), 4-0
Metro (Smithfield, Rhode Island) def. Mountain (Henderson, Nevada), 3-1
Japan (Tokyo, Japan) def. Cuba (Bayamo, Cuba), 1-0
Southwest (Needville, Texas) def. Mid-Atlantic (Media, Pennsylvania), 2-1
Panama 4, Europe-Africa 0
Panama kicked off Wednesday’s action with a 4-0 win over Europe-Africa, and it was a dominant outing for the team from Santiago de Veraguas.
Omar Vargas played hero for the Panamanians as he hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth inning to score all four of the team’s runs. He also struck out 12 batters in a combined no-hitter.
Thanks to Vargas, Panama will play Latin America (Venezuela) in the next round on Friday looking to remain in the winners bracket. Europe-Africa will take on the loser of Canada versus Asia-Pacific on Saturday.
Metro 3, Mountain 1
The Metro region team from Smithfield, Rhode Island, managed just one hit against the Mountain region team from Henderson, Nevada, but that was all they needed in a 3-1 victory as Connor Curtis was brilliant on the mound.
Curtis struck out 15 batters in the victory.
In terms of scoring, two of the Metro’s three runs came on wild pitches, and the team will have to get the bats going in the next round if they hope to advance in the tournament.
The Metro region will take on the Southeast region in the next round on Friday, and the Mountain region will square off against the loser of the West region versus the Great Lakes region on Saturday.
Japan 1, Cuba 0
In a game that featured just one combined hit, Japan topped Cuba 1-0 in a pitchers duel.
Yohei Yamaguchi drove in the game’s lone run on a double to centerfield and Hinata Uchigaki shut things down on the mound, striking out 13 batters in five innings, to leave Cuba without a hit.
Japan moves on to face Mexico in the next round on Friday while Cuba will face the loser of the Caribbean versus Australia on Saturday.
Southwest 2, Mid-Atlantic 1
The Southwest region is moving on thanks to an excellent performance on the mound from DJ Jablonski in a 2-1 win over the Mid-Atlantic region.
Jablonski struck out 10 batters in five and two-thirds innings to support his team in what was a rather quiet offensive night in Williamsport.
The Southwest region will move on to face the Midwest region on Friday while the Mid-Atlantic Region will face the loser of the Northwest region versus the New England region on Saturday.
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Publish date : 2023-08-16 03:00:00
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