2012 Little League World Series

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Aug 26, 2012

2012 Little League World Series

Opening Ceremony

Players from the 16 teams participating in the 2012 Little League World Series release balloons during the opening ceremony.

Tennessee 12, Nebraska 1

Goodlettsville, Tenn.'s Jayson Taylor is swarmed by teammates after hitting a solo homer in the sixth inning against Kearney, Neb.

Taiwan 14, Germany 1

Taoyuan County, Taiwan's Kai-Chun Lin scores past Ramstein, Germany catcher Kyle Glenn on a fielder's choice by Chun-En Lin during the third inning of their pool play game.

California 6, Connecticut 4

Petaluma, Calif.'s Bradley Smith, who at 6-foot-3 towers over his teammates, had four hits, including a two-run home run, and struck out seven against Fairfield, Conn.

Canada 13, Mexico 9

With runners at first and third and two outs, Vancouver, British Columbia's Carter Kada-Wong leaps and makes the catch on a sinking liner from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico's Sebastian Cuellar in the fifth inning.

Panama 9, Uganda 3

Uganda players tip their caps to the fans after an opening loss to Panama. They are the first team from Africa to advance to South Williamsport in the 66-year history of the tournament.

Curacao 14, Germany 2

Curacao's Hermain Habat reacts after being hit by a pitch, but the Caribbean champs put the hurt on Germany in an elimination game with an eight-run first inning.

Connecticut 12, Nebraska 0

Matt Kubel (pictured) struck out six over 4 2/3 innings of two-hit ball as the Northeast champions relegated Nebraska to the consolation bracket.

Mexico 12, Uganda 0

Mexico's Joel Turrubiates, left, and Marcelo Perez celebrate after Turrubiates' three-run home run in the second inning. Mexico scored five in the second and seven in the third to eliminate Uganda.

New Jersey 10, Oregon 4

Emil Matti (left) clubbed two solo home runs, including one to lead off the game, and scored four runs to power Parsippany, N.J. to a 10-4 win over Gresham, Ore. and stay alive in the Little League World Series.

Panama 8, Canada 3

Aguadulce, Panama's James Gonzalez, Daniel Cruz, Rafael Eysseric and Edisson Gonzalez celebrate after a grand slam by James in the second inning of a pool play baseball game against Vancouver, British Columbia.

Tennessee 9, California 6

Goodlettsville, Tenn.'s Brock Myers rounds third past manager Joey Hale after hitting a solo-home run off Petaluma, Calif. pitcher Andrew White in the sixth inning.

Texas 13, Indiana 3

San Antonio, Texas' Zachary Sanchez (third from right) celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning against New Castle, Ind.

Japan 2, Taiwan 0

Taoyuan County, Taiwan's Chun-En Lin (left) strikes out to end the top of the ninth inning against Tokyo, Japan. Japan won the game 2-0 in the bottom half of the ninth.

Curacao 4, Canada 3

The Caribbean champions rallied with three runs in the fifth inning to eliminate Canada. Christopher Koeiman drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly. Mychellon Jansen's solo home run put Curacao ahead. Canada exits with a win over formidable Mexico to its credit.

California 5, New Jersey 4

Danny Marzo hit a walk-off home run in the eighth inning to eliminate New Jersey. Marzo drove a breaking ball to the grassy hill beyond the right-field wall to advance and set up a rematch with Connecticut.

Connecticut 4, Indiana 0

Will Lucas threw the 35th six-inning no-hitter in Little League World Series history to eliminate Indiana. Lucas, 12, struck out 13 and helped himself with a two-run single.

Mexico 4, Taiwan 3

Taiwan's Cheng-Kai Hu is tagged out at by Mexico's Eduardo Abrego in the third inning. Mexico scored three runs in the third to take the lead, including two on a throwing error. Mexico manager Fernando Rios was suspended for two games after a player on his roster did not bat in the game.

California 11, Texas 1

Hance Smith (No. 10) connects on a grand slam in the first inning to help send Petaluma, Calif., into the Little League World Series U.S. final against Goodlettsville, Tenn. Smith added another homer and finished with five RBIs.

Japan 10, Panama 2

The team from Tokyo hit five home runs, including two by Kotaro Kiyomiya, to trounce Panama in the international championship game. Fans behind the right-field fence have started holding a "Kotaro Target" sign with a bullseye for the 6-foot slugger to aim at.

Tennessee 24, California 16

The Southeast champions outlasted the West champs in the highest-scoring Little League World Series game ever. Tennessee led 15-5 going into the final half-inning, where California scored 10 runs to extend it. The comeback overshadowed a record performance by Lorenzo Butler, who had three home runs and nine RBIs.

Japan 12, Tennessee 2

Noriatsu Osaka hit three homers and tripled, and Japan limited Tennessee's potent lineup to two hits. A team from Japan won the title for the second time in three years after a seven-year drought. Starter Kotaro Kiyomiya struck out eight in four innings and added an RBI single.

2012 Little League World Series