LITTLE LEAGUE It's tears to cheers for Massachsetts

Saugus lost all of an eight-run lead but won in the bottom of the seventh.
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) -- Tears in the dugout turned to a celebration on the field when Saugus, Mass., which blew an eight-run lead, scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and beat Richmond, Texas, 14-13 Thursday in the U.S. semifinals of the Little League World Series.
Matthew Muldoon's RBI single tied the game in the seventh inning, and David Ferreira drove in the winning run with a two-out swinging bunt. Dario Pizzano began jumping in celebration as he crossed the plate, while Ferreira, who didn't immediately start running after hitting the ball, barely beat the throw to first to give Saugus the victory.
"I thought it was a foul at first," Ferreira said. "Then I saw it was fair, and I just started running my fastest."
Saugus (4-0) will play Boynton Beach, Fla., in Saturday night's U.S. championship game. Saugus beat Boynton Beach 4-3 in pool play.
Eli Sepulveda hit an RBI double and Cody Robinson a two-run homer that traveled an estimated 283 feet in the top of the seventh to give Richmond (2-2) a 13-10 lead.
But Robinson walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, forcing a switch to Randal Grichuk, who had yet to pitch in the series.
Down to last strike
Dario Pizzano's RBI single and an error on the throw to the plate brought Saugus within 13-12. Grichuk then got two strikes on Muldoon, bringing tears to the eyes of at least one of his teammates in the Saugus dugout. However, Muldoon then lined a single to right that scored Tyler Grillo and tied the score.
"I was making plans for Saturday, then halfway through [the seventh] I was making plans to go home," Saugus manager Rob Rochenski said. "I just couldn't believe it."
Ferreira then tapped a ball right down the third base line that, at first, seemed like it was heading foul. It stayed fair, however, and Ferreira beat the throw to first by half a step while Pizzano raced home with the winning run.
Earlier Thursday, Japan beat Mexico 7-1 to advance to their fourth straight international championship game, where they will face a team from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, for the third consecutive time.
The world championship is Sunday.