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Canada, Puerto Rico, Georgia, Iowa remain in contention

Little League World Series

Walk-off hits are becoming commonplace at the Little League World Series. Canada produced the fourth game-ending hit in three days Saturday on Joey Marino's RBI single in the 10th inning to beat Spain, 2-1. 

Canada and Puerto Rico on the international side, along with Georgia and Iowa on the U.S. side, all remain in title contention after picking up victories Saturday. Puerto Rico shut out Australia 6-0 behind the pitching of Yadiel Delgado. Tai Peete led with his bat and his arm in Georgia's 3-0 victory over Idaho, and Maddox O'Connor and Alex Stewart powered the Iowa offense in its 9-5 win over Rhode Island.

Through the first three days, teams have combined to score a total of 82 runs while hitting only five homers. That's 45 runs and 18 home runs fewer than last year through the third day of the tournament.

Four games are on tap Sunday, each featuring 1-0 teams going up against each other. Ten straight and 15 of the past 16 Little League World Series champions started the tournament 2-0. The last team to lose one of its first two games and then go on to win it all was Georgia in 2007.

Recapping Saturday's games

Canada 2, Spain 1 (F/10)

  • Canada (1-1) moves on to play Monday at 6 p.m. ET against the loser of Sunday's game between South Korea and Mexico.

  • The game, which lasted 3 hours, 19 minutes, was the third to go extra innings this year. The most in a single year in recorded history is four (2006, 2013). All three have gone at least nine innings, the most such games since 2001.

  • Marino, who had the walk-off single for Canada, finished with two hits, as did teammate Nate Colina.

  • Whalley LL improved to 8-10 all-time at the LLWS; all other Canadian teams are 42-118 combined.

  • Spain (0-2) was eliminated from title contention but will play in a consolation game on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET against Idaho.

  • Spain is now 3-25 all time at the LLWS. European teams have lost 35 straight non-consolation games. The last non-consolation game victory by a European representative came in 2003.

Georgia 3, Idaho 0

  • Georgia (1-1) will face the loser of New York-Texas on Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

  • It was the third shutout win in the LLWS by a team from Georgia, and the first since 2010.

  • Georgia's Nos. 1-4 batters were 7-for-16 with two RBIs; the same batters were 2-for-17 in the LLWS opener against Hawai'i.

  • Tai Peete (Georgia) gave up one hit and struck out five over three innings. He is eligible to pitch Tuesday.

  • Meanwhile, at the plate, Peete was 3-for-3 with a double after going 0-for-4 with a walk in the LLWS opener.

  • Idaho (0-2) was eliminated from championship contention.

Puerto Rico 6, Australia 0

  • Puerto Rico (1-1) moves on to play Monday at 1 p.m. ET against the loser of Sunday's game between Panama and Japan.

  • Puerto Rico got stellar pitching from Yadiel Delgado, who had a perfect game through 3 1/3 innings. He finished with four innings pitched, giving up one hit and striking out seven.

  • Puerto Rico is now 3-0 all time against Australia at the LLWS.

  • Australia (0-2) was eliminated from title contention but will play in a consolation game on Monday at 11 a.m. ET against Rhode Island.

Iowa 9, Rhode Island 5

  • Iowa (1-1) pays Monday at 3 p.m. ET against the loser of Sunday's Michigan-Hawai'i game.

  • It was Iowa's fifth win when facing tournament elimination since the Midwest regionals began.

  • Blake Larson (Iowa) pitched five innings, gave up three hits, two earned runs and striking out four.

  • Maddox O'Connor was 3-for-3 with a walk and four runs scored for Iowa. He is 4-for-5 with two walks and five runs in the tournament.

  • Alex Stewart finished with four RBIs and has now accounted for five of Iowa's seven RBIs in the tournament.

  • Rhode Island (0-2), despite holding leads in both of its losses, was eliminated from title contention and will play a consolation game Monday against Australia.

Previewing Sunday's games

South Korea vs. Mexico, 9 a.m. ET on ESPN

  • Both teams rallied from deficits in the sixth inning to win their openers.

  • South Korea is now 17-4 all time in the LLWS.

  • Gi Jeong Kim (South Korea) was 3-for-5 with two RBIs in Thursday's win over Puerto Rico, while the rest of the team was 3-for-25 with one RBI.

  • Mexico is seeking its first 2-0 start at the LLWS since 2013.

  • Angel Martinez hit a walk-off, two-run single with two outs in the sixth inning as Mexico defeated Australia 3-2 on Thursday.

  • The winner of this game plays on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN against the winner of Panama-Japan.

  • The loser of this game plays Canada in an elimination game on Monday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Texas vs. New York, 11 a.m. ET on ESPN

  • Both teams are undefeated this summer. Mid Island Little League (Staten Island, New York) is 16-0, and Post Oak Little League (Houston, Texas) is 15-0.

  • Justin Michaelis was 3-for-3 in Texas' win over Rhode Island on Thursday, while the rest of the team was 3-for-20.

  • New York is seeking its fifth 2-0 start in the LLWS. New York has made the LLWS championship game all four times it started 2-0.

  • Gregory Bruno (New York) hasn't given up a run in 13 2/3 innings of work since the start of Mid-Atlantic regionals, where he pitched a perfect game in his last start on Aug. 12 in the regional championship game against Maryland.

  • The winner of this game plays Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN against the winner of Michigan-Hawai'i (Sunday at 2 p.m. ET).

  • The loser of this game plays Georgia in an elimination game Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Panama vs. Japan, 1 p.m. ET on ESPN

  • Panama's 1-2-3 hitters (Carlos Arcia, Adan Sanchez, Arod McKenzie) went 8-for-10 in Panama's win vs Canada on Friday. The rest of the team was 1-for-17.

  • Japan is 99-30 all time in the LLWS. It's seeking to become the first international team to win 100 LLWS games.

  • The winner of this game plays Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN against the winner of South Korea-Mexico.

  • The loser of this game plays Puerto Rico in an elimination game Monday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Michigan vs. Hawai'i, 2 p.m. ET on ABC

  • The only meeting between Michigan and Hawai'i in the LLWS was in 1959. Michigan won that game and then went on to claim its only LLWS title.

  • Michigan rallied from a three-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning Friday to defeat Idaho 5-4 on Ryan Knaebel's walk-off single.

  • Hawai'i (1-0) went on to win the LLWS each of the past two times it started 2-0 (2005 and 2008).

  • Aukai Kea hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Hawai'i a 2-0 victory over Georgia on Friday. The 11-inning game was tied for the longest in the recorded history of the Little League World Series. Each of the previous two teams to win an 11-inning game -- New Jersey in 1998 and Kentucky in 2002 - went on to win the championship.

  • The winner of this game plays Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN against the winner of Texas-New York.

  • The loser of this game plays Iowa in an elimination game on Monday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Justin Page of ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.

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