Little League World Series 2015 Schedule, Brackets & Teams: Venezuela, Mexico, Japan Advance in Playoffs
Not that entertained by Major League Baseball? That's fine, because the annual Little League World Series is currently under way. The best young baseball players from around the world get to showcase their talents on national television.
The Little League World Series is divided into two brackets.
The first one is the international playoff. Baseball countries from all continents compete in six inning contests. By far the biggest surprise this year was Uganda defeating the Dominican Republic in the first round, 4-1. Uganda's championship hopes were quickly erased after the second round when Venezuela dominated them, 7-0. Japan also defeated Chinese Taipei in an Asian rivalry in the first round. Mexico was able to beat Canada 1-0. Gerardo Lujano was credited with the victory in that game. Raul Leon scored the winning run for Mexico in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Mexico lost in the second round to Japan, but they're not out of it just yet. Because of their dominant 14-3 victory over Australia, Mexico can still advance to the international finals if they beat Chinese Taipei.
Mexico and Chinese Taipei will play each other on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 4 p.m. EST on ESPN. The winner of that game will face the winner of the "winner's bracket" for the international championship. Venezuela and Japan will square off on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 4 p.m. EST on ESPN. The international championship game will be played on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 12:30 p.m. EST.
A lot is at stake, especially for Japan. Japan has the second most championships of all-time behind only Taiwan. Venezuela hasn't won this tournament since 2000, and Mexico hasn't won it since 1997. Venezuela is also the last Latin American team to win the Little League World Series when they did so in 2000 over Texas.
It doesn't end there.
The international winner will play the United States winner in the World Championship game on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 3 p.m. EST. The last three Little League World Series winners have all been international teams. In fact, the last three champions have all been Asian teams.
As it stands now, Texas, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and California are the four remaining United States teams. Texas hasn't won this event since 1966, and Pennsylvania since 1960. What's interesting to keep in mind here is that the teams who loses the international championship and the U.S. Championship, will play each other in a consolation game. The two "runner up squads" will face off on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 10 a.m. EST.
Earlier in the year Mexico advanced to the finals of the Caribbean Series but lost to Cuba, 3-2. Venezuela made it to the semifinals, but they too lost to Cuba.
Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1
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