Set Number: X164126 TK2
The 2024 Little League Baseball World Series continued on Thursday, with eight more teams in action.
Four teams were able to advance in the double-elimination tournament, while four others are now in danger of heading back home. Japan started off Thursday's action with a resounding 11-0 victory over Puerto Rico.
Here's a closer look at the game recaps, latest bracket, and highlights from Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Scores
Japan (Tokyo) 11, Puerto Rico (Guayama) 0
Mountain (Henderson, Nevada) 9, Metro (Staten Island, New York) 1
Cuba (Villa Clara) 4, Europe-Africa (Brno, Czech Republic) 1
Southwest (Boerne, Texas) 9, Mid-Atlantic (Newtown, Pennsylvania) 0
Bracket
The entire bracket can be found on the official Little League Baseball World Series website.
Japan 11, Puerto Rico 0
Japan jumped out to a hot start against Puerto Rico, scoring five runs in the first inning, which included an impressive RBI single from Taiyo Honryo. Fernando Santos started the game for Puerto Rico, although he was unable to make it through the opening inning before a pitching change was made.
Japan's Kanta Iwash*ta fared much better on the mound, striking out eight batters in four innings of work. After Puerto Rico failed to get on the scoreboard, the Japanese team increased its lead to 11-0 in the third inning following a series of errors as well as a wild pitch.
Puerto Rico needed to score at least two runs in the fourth inning to avoid the 10-run mercy rule, but the team was unable to do so. Japan was able to end the game early and will advance to face the winner of Friday's matchup between Mexico and Latin America.
Mountain 9, Metro 1
The next clash between the Metro region (New York) and the Mountain region (Nevada) initially started off slow.
Both teams were scoreless through the first inning, which featured a pitching duel between Nevada's Wyatt Erickson and New York's Stephen Grippo.
The first run of the game was scored by the Mountain region, as Russell McGee recorded a two-out RBI single in the third inning. Erickson also chipped in at the plate, as he followed it up with a double that resulted in two more runs.
Grippo responded with some heroics in the box as well, hitting his own RBI single that helped the Metro region cut the deficit to 3-1.
However, the Mountain region pulled away by adding another run in the fourth inning. The lineup stayed hot, recording five runs in the fifth and blowing the game open.
Erickson was dominant on the mound, pitching a complete game and recording eight strikeouts.
Cuba 4, Europe-Africa 1
The next matchup between Cuba and Europe-Africa was a low-scoring contest compared to Thursday's first two games, although it didn't initially appear to be heading in that direction.
Dominik Maly put Europe-Africa on the board first, recording a run-scoring double. Starting pitcher Illia Kolomoiets maintained the one-run lead through the first four innings, keeping Cuba scoreless.
Little League @LittleLeagueDominik Maly drives an RBI double to left to give Czech Republic a 1-0 lead! <br><br>📺 <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPN</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LLWS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LLWS</a> <a href="https://t.co/gPtMub4SfQ">pic.twitter.com/gPtMub4SfQ</a>
Cuba's offense finally picked up in the fifth inning, as Marloon Herrera knocked in two runs with a base hit and knocked Kolomoiets out of the game.
The Cuban team received two more insurance runs due to savvy baserunning from Yosmin Fuentes as well as another RBI single. Yans Espinosa closed the game out for Cuba, securing the comeback victory.
The team will now face off against the winner of Friday's game between Australia and Asia-Pacific.
Southwest 9, Mid-Atlantic 0
Caden Guffey, Doc Mogford and Kole Newson smacked home runs for the Southwest region (Texas) en route to a 9-0 victory over Mid-Atlantic (Pennsylvania).
Newson's homer was a grand slam amid a six-run fifth inning. Southwest also scored one run apiece in the second, third and fourth frames.
Julian Hurst enjoyed a great day at the plate and on the mound. He smacked a team-high three hits (including a double) and came on in relief to strike out 10 over four hitless innings.
Southwest will play the winner of Northwest (Puyallup, Washington) and Southeast (Lake Mary, Florida). Mid-Atlantic will play New England (Salem, New Hampshire) in an elimination game.
