Georgia to face Japanese

Sunday, August 27, 2006 Georgia defeated Beaverton, Ore., 7-3. SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Clutch hitting and timely defense — the Little Leaguers from Columbus, Ga., sure are well-schooled in the art of playing winning baseball. Good pitching and colorful home-run trots are the hallmarks of the undefeated team from Kawaguchi City, Japan. Should be interesting when the two teams meet for the Little League World Series championship. Go Matsumoto homered and got starter Seigo Yada out of a sixth-inning jam with some sharp relief pitching in Japan's 3-0 win Saturday night over Mexico to capture the international championship. Earlier, Brady Hamilton drove in two runs and J.T. Phillips struck out eight to help Columbus defeat Beaverton, Ore., 7-3 to win the U.S. title. The kids from Oregon and Japan will play for the title today. Hamilton broke a 3-3 tie by flaring a pitch from starter Jace Fry just out of the shortstop's reach to score Phillips from second in the fifth inning. Columbus got some breathing room with three more runs in the sixth. Cody Walker tracked a popup in foul territory and stumbled to the ground on his back just after catching it for the final out. Jubilant teammates started piling on top of him as parents cheered and snapped pictures. Japan 3, Mexico 0 In the nightcap, Yada started for Japan and dominated until the sixth, when Mexico managed three straight singles to load the bases with nobody out. In came Matsumoto to close the door. The lanky, 5-foot-10 reliever with the long delivery and nice fastball struck out the first two batters he faced, then ended the game by getting a weak groundout to first. Mexico starter Josue Barron was good early, striking out six and retiring the side through the first three innings. Fans waving the green, white and yellow flag of Mexico shouted "Josue, Josue, Josue" often drowning out the rhythmic clapping of Japanese fans. Japan's sluggers got to Barron in the fourth. Leadoff hitter Yada sent a 1-0 pitch over the left-field wall. Two batters later, Matsumoto hit the first pitch he saw from Barron into a grassy patch just before the hedges beyond the center field fence. After each shot, while rounding the bases, the hitters would nearly lean to the ground on one knee and pump an arm in front of them. After Yada reached the plate on his homer, he was greeted by awaiting teammates who did the same move. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.