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(Getty)
The Little League World Series is finally here.
Starting on Thursday and lasting for the next 10 days, 16 of the best youth baseball teams will compete in South Williamsport will battle it for one of the most prized titles in all of sports: Little League World Series champion. Here’s a look at the teams in contention, as well as some favorites to keep your eye on.
United States Teams
Great Lakes: Bowling Green Eastern Little League, Kentucky
Mid-Atlantic: Red Land Little League, Pennsylvania
Midwest: Webb City Little League, Missouri
New England: Cranston Western Little League, Rhode Island
Northwest: Wilshire-Riverside Little League, Oregon
Southeast: Northwood Little League, South Carolina
Southwest: Pearland West Little League, Texas
West: Sweetwater Valley Little League, California
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International Teams
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The Tokyo Kitasuna Little League team poses for a picture. (Instagram/ohfumi)
Asia-Pacific: Tung Yuan Little League, Chinese Taipei
Australia: Cronulla Little League, Australia
Canada: White Rock South Surrey Little League, British Columbia
Caribbean: Los Bravos de Pontezuela Little League, Dominican Republic
Europe-Africa: AVRS Little League, Uganda
Japan: Tokyo Kitasuna Little League, Japan
Latin America: Cardenales Little League, Venezuela
Mexico: Seguro Social Little League, Mexico
Teams to Watch
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Red Land Little League has a good shot of making some noise on the US side of the bracket. (Twitter/WilliamsGrove)
On the United States side of the bracket, Red Land Little League sticks out. Not only are the Pennsylvania representatives only a few-hour drive from South Williamsport, but they looked extremely strong in regional play, winning their three games by a combined score of 36-5. Over that stretch, Ethan Phillips hit a silly .700/.769/1.500 with two home runs, two doubles and 11 RBI.
Oregon also has to be considered a strong US contender after scoring double-digit runs in each of its four regional games, while you can never overlook California, which has produced more United States champions (seven) than any other state.
When it comes to an overall favorite, though, it’s difficult to pick any team other than Tokyo Kitasuna Little League. Tokyo has produced three of the last five overall champions, and what this squad did during its regional tournament was downright unfair. In four wins, it outscored its opponents, 44-4. In the championship, it beat Hachiouji, 20-3.
The opening-round game between Japan and Chinese-Tapai may just be a preview of the international championship. Then again, the LLWS is anything but predictable, and the dramatic upsets are a major reason why this tournament is so captivating.
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