It’s that time of year again, as it is time for the 2016 Little League World Series. Last year’s ended with a wild slugfest in the championship that saw Japan defeat the team from Pennsylvania by a final score of 18-11. No team from the United States has won an LLWS title since 2011 when Huntington, California defeated Japan 2-1. Here is a look at the eight teams who will look to break that streak this year.

Midwest

Johnston Little League (Iowa)

This group of players is the first Iowa team to make it to the world series since Urbandale in 2009. They reached this point by winning the Midwest regional. Their first regional game was against Minnesota, which they won 9-0. That set them up to face Nebraska, who they defeated 7-1. Their next game was the regional championship, where they defeated Kansas 3-0 to clinch their spot in Williamsport.

The team from Iowa poses after winning the regional tournament | Little League Baseball

Their top pitcher during the regional tournament was Kaiden Dinh, who threw 8.1 innings, giving up just three hits and no runs while walking four and striking out ten. Michael Siemer also got a lot of mound time at the regionals, as he went 6.1 innings, giving up six hits and one run while striking out eight batters.

On the offensive side, Iowa was led by Miles Risley, who went 6-9 with one home run and four runs batted in. As a team, Iowa went 25-71 with five home runs and six doubles during regional play.

Mid-Atlantic

Maine-Endwell LL (New York)

The team representing the Mid-Atlantic regional comes from Maine-Endwell LL in New York. This is the first time that his particular league will be in at the World Series and the 17th time that a team from New York has made it, with the last one being South Shore National Little League from Staten Island.

In the Mid-Atlantic regional tournament, they started with an 8-6 win over New Jersey. They followed that up with a tight 1-0 win over Delaware. In their third game, they faced Washington D.C. and won by an 8-2 final score. That sent them to the championship game against Pennsylvania, which they won 6-2 to clinch a spot in Williamsport.

The team from New York poses after winning the regional tournament | Little League Baseball

Their top pitcher during the regional tournament was Michael Mancini, who threw 11 innings, giving up five hits and two runs while recording an astounding 22 strikeouts of opposing batters. Jude Abbadessa was their second-best pitcher, going 5.1 innings and giving up five hits and two runs while recording eight strikeouts.

Their top batter during regional play was Jordan Owens, who went 4-7 with a double. Three different players hit a home run during regional play including Brody Raleigh, Jack Hopko, and Ryan Harlost. As a team, they went 33-99 with three home runs and eight doubles.

New England

Warwick North LL (New Hampshire)

The team that made it out of the New England regional is Warwick North Little League from Rhode Island. This is the first trip to Williamsport for this particular league and the fifth time that New Hampshire has sent a team.

Their path to the World Series started with a 5-2 win over Maine, which was followed by a 10-7 win over Massachusetts. From there, they went to the championship game, where they faced Connecticut, and won a 5-1 game to advance to Williamsport.

The team from New Hampshire poses after winning the regional tournament | Little League Baseball

Their top pitcher during the regional tournament was Colin Lemieux, who threw 10.1 innings, giving up 12 hits and three runs while recording 15 strikeouts. Kenny Rix was the second-best hurler, as he went 4.1 innings, giving up four hits and three runs while striking out four opposing batters.

Their offensive leader was Sean Gallagher, who went 4-7 with two walks. As a team, they went 17-65 with two home runs and one double for a team batting average of .262.

Northwest

Bend North LL (Oregon)

The Northwest Regional was a unique one in all the teams had a loss, including the team from Oregon who won the championship. They started their regional off with an 8-2 loss to Washington. From there, they battled back and defeated Alaska 6-2, Montana 15-0, and Idaho 12-0 to set up a rematch with Washington in the championship. This time, Oregon came out on top by a final score of 5-1 to advance to Williamsport. This is the first trip for Bend North, and the sixth trip for a team from Oregon, with the last one being Wilshire-Riverside from Portland.

Their top pitcher was Zack Reynolds, who threw seven innings, giving up three hits while notching 12 strikeouts. Blaine Causey was second on the team in strikeouts, as in 6.1 innings he notched 10 strikeouts while giving up eight hits.

Their top producer on offense was Declan Corrigan, who went 2-3 with a run batted in. As a team, they went 49-144 with four home runs, seven doubles, and 28 runs batted in.

The team from Oregon poses after winning the regional tournament | Little League Baseball

Southeast

Goodlettsville Baseball LL (Tennessee)

This is the second trip to the LLBWS for Goodlettsville, with the last being the 2012 team that finished as the overall runners-up after losing the championship game 12-2 to Japan. They are also the eighth overall team to qualify from Tennessee, with the last being South Nashville in 2014.

In the regionals, they began their journey with a 5-3 win over South Carolina. They followed that up with a 6-3 win over Georgia. Their next game was a close 5-4 win over West Virginia to put them in the championship game, where they had a rematch with Georgia, which they won 15-3 to send them to Williamsport.

The team from Tennessee poses after winning the regional tournament | Little League Baseball

Zach McWilliams was their best pitcher during the regionals, as he went 8.2 innings. Giving up four runs on seven hits while recording 18 strikeouts. As a team, they had an ERA of 2.87 with 31 strikeouts and 19 hits allowed. Brock Duffer pitched in three games, going a total of five innings while giving up no runs and one hit while notching six strikeouts.

On offense, they were led by Ethan Jackson, who went 6-10 with two home runs and five runs batted in. As a team they batted .456 with four home runs and 27 runs batted in while striking out just 24 times.

Southwest

McAllister Park American LL (TX West)

This is the second trip for this specific league and the third trip for the city of McAllister all-time. The last McAllister team to make it was 2012 when McAllister Park National made it to the LLBWS. The last McAllister American team to make it was 2009.

Their Regional began with a 3-0 win over Louisiana. From there they defeated Arkansas 14-0, which they followed with their only loss of the tournament, a 9-6 game that New Mexico won. They bounced back with an 8-4 defeat of Louisiana and won a rematch with New Mexico 13-3 to advance to Williamsport.

The team from Texas poses after winning the regional tournament | Little League Baseball

They had two pitchers that they relied on heavily in the regionals, with the first being Britton Moore, who threw nine innings, giving up four runs on nine hits while striking out 11 batters. Their other top pitcher was Dominic Tellis, who went eight innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits while recording 14 strikeouts. As a team, they had 38 strikeouts while having an ERA of 3.00.

On offense, they were led by L.J. Brown, who went 4-7 with one home run and four runs batted in. As a team, they batted .297 with four home runs and a .500 slugging average during the regional tournament.

West

Park View LL (So. California)

This is the first trip to the LLBWS for Park View LL, but it is the 47th time that a California team has advanced. Seven of those teams have won the tournament, with the last one being Ocean View LL from Huntington Beach in 2011 which just happens to be the last time any American team has won the tournament.

They started the West regional with an 18-0 win over Northern California. They followed that up with a 7-4 win over Arizona, which they followed up with a 14-11 win over Hawaii. That put them in the championship game, which they won 1-0 over Nevada.

The team from California poses after winning the regional tournament | Little League Baseball

Victor Lizarraga was the most-used pitcher during the regionals, as he went 12 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits while recording 24 strikeouts. As a team, they compiled an ERA of 1.93 with 43 strikeouts in 28 innings.

Daniel Leon provided the offensive firepower, as he went just 4-12, but had two home runs, which led the team, as well as four runs batted in. As a team, they compiled a batting average of .341 with six home runs and five doubles.

Great Lakes

Bowling Green Eastern LL (Kentucky)

The Great Lakes Regional was a strange one, as the championship game started in Indianapolis, but due to rain and field conditions, was forced to be finished at Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, where Kentucky finished off a 7-2 win over Michigan to clinch a spot in the LLBWS.

The team from Kentucky poses after winning the regional tournament | Little League Baseball

Isaiah Head was the most-used pitcher during the regionals, as he went 9.2 innings, giving up two runs on three hits while recording 20 strikeouts. As a team, they threw 16 innings, with nine runs allowed and 29 strikeouts.

Their offense was led by John Guthrie, who went 4-7 with one home run and four runs batted in. As a team, they put up a .347 batting average with three home runs and 21 runs batted in while striking out just 18 times.

Prediction

As usual, it is a stacked field on the US side. Judging by the regional results, Goodlettsville looks to be the team to beat, but no matter who it is, they will have a tough time bringing home the first championship to the US since 2011.

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About the author
Stevie Larson
NASCAR Editor, Minnesota sports fan. Contact: [email protected]