Little League World Series roundup

LLWS ROUNDUP

Wednesday’s games

Tennessee 4, Texas 3

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, PA.

Tennessee scratched out two late runs to get to the U.S. final in the Little League World Series. Cole Carter had an RBI single after Luke Rucker scored the tying run from second on a throwing error to give the boys from Goodlettsville, Tenn., a 4-3 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday night. Next stop for unbeaten Tennessee: The U.S championship game. Texas had scored twice in the fifth before Tennessee rallied with its late-game heroics. Reliever Luke Brown closed it out with a double play, and giddy Tennessee players celebrated in front of their dugout with wide smiles while kneeling on the ground as friends and families cheered from the stands. Texas must now play an elimination game tonight against Petaluma, Calif. Tennessee can rest up until Saturday, when it will face the winner of the elimination game. Tennessee had squandered several opportunities to build on an early 2-1 lead. Texas reliever Zachary Sanchez loaded the bases in top of the fifth after hitting a batter with two outs, but got a force at third to get of that inning. San Antonio small ball earned Texas a short-lived 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Landry Wideman had an RBI single before pinch runner Jack Scarborough scampered home from third on a passed ball. But Texas couldn’t hold on in top of the sixth. Rucker led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on Jayson Brown’s single before racing home after an errant pickoff throw at first sailed into the outfield. Tennessee had taken 2-1 lead in the third after 12-year-old sluggers Brown and Brock Myers hit back-to-back homers. Myers sidestepped up the line as he watched the ball sail beyond the left-field fence.

Japan 4, Panama 1

The Little Leaguers from Japan are playing textbook baseball. Strong pitching, solid defense and powerful bats have carried the team from Tokyo to a berth in the international final. Kotaro Kiyomiya homered in the first, and starter Ryuji Osada struck out seven. The left-handed Kiyomiya displayed prodigious power for a 13-year-old slugger. His blast landed nearly halfway up the hill beyond the right-field wall, about 310 feet from the plate. “As soon as I hit it I knew it was a home run,” he said through an interpreter. “That’s why I didn’t take off quickly.” Panama finally got on the board in the fifth after Edwin Nieto hustled around first to score on a double by Daniel Cruz and an error. But Osada got the next batter to ground weakly to short to end the threat. Texas and Tennessee play the nightcap in the U.S. bracket. On the international side, Japan is a traditional power, having appeared in the World Series finals four out of the previous six years, including a title in 2010. Now, Tokyo is two wins away from taking home another title to Japan. Noriatsu Osaka retired the side in order in the sixth for the save.

Associated Press