LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES

August 24, 2007 at 2:00a.m.

Thursday’s games

Willemstad, Curacao 4,|
Maracaibo, Venezuela 2

Down to his last strike with his team on the brink of elimination, Deion Rosalia stayed calm and settled himself at the plate. The next pitch, a fastball, looked inviting, and the 13-year-old swung. When the ball sailed over the right-field fence, Rosalia had a three-run homer and Willemstad, Curacao, had a stunning extra-inning win. Curacao advances to Saturday’s international championship game against Tokyo, Japan which beat Taichung, Taiwan, 4-3 in another extra-inning thriller. Junsho Kiuchi’s homer to left ended it in the bottom of the 10th. Venezuela and Taiwan are eliminated.

Rosalia wasn’t looking to go deep on the 1-2 pitch. “No, I just went for contact,” he said, flashing a brief smile. Tied 1-1 after the regulation six innings, Venezuela’s Bryan Charry led off the top of the seventh with a homer to give Venezuela a 2-1 lead. Teammates lined the third-base line as Charry rounded third, greeting him with low-fives before he pounced on home plate.

Lubbock, Texas 8, Lake Oswego, Ore. 2

Bryndan Arredondo hit a three-run homer in the third as undefeated Lubbock (3-0) rallied from an early deficit to defeat Lake Oswego (2-2). “Oh yeah, I knew it was out,” Arredondo said about his blast. Calvin Hermanson’s two-run single in the second gave Oregon a 2-0 lead before Texas scored four runs in the third. Reliever Garrett Williams allowed Hermanson’s single, but was otherwise dominant. After recording all 17 outs in his first appearance by strikeout, Williams struck out the first six batters he faced against Lake Oswego. When Reid Penney flew out in the fourth, it was the first time in the World Series that Williams recorded an out other than by strikeout. Williams finished with 11 Ks against Oregon, which was eliminated. “I expect to dominate, but sometimes I’m on and sometimes I’m not,” Williams said. “I’ve just happened to be on this week.”