SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Brock Myers hit a tie-breaking double, and Goodlettsville, Tenn., gave up a 10-run lead in the bottom of the sixth before scoring nine in the seventh in a 24-16 victory over Petaluma, Calif., on Saturday for a berth in the Little League World Series title game against Tokyo.

Only California’s 10-run comeback to send the game into extra innings tied at 15 could overshadow Tennessee slugger Lorenzo Butler’s extraordinary day at the plate.

Butler set a single-game record with nine RBI, and tied a record with three homers to lead Tennessee.

Cole Tomei had a two-run double in the sixth, and Hance Smith’s solo shot with two outs gave California an improbable 15-15 tie.

Tennessee finally held on in the bottom of the seventh.

Tennessee will face Tokyo for the title on Sunday. Tokyo earlier beat Aguadulce, Panama, 10-2, in the international final.

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Japan also relied on the bats in the first game, getting five homers, including two from 13-year-old slugger Kotaro Kiyomiya, for the international championship.

The 6-foot Kiyomiya is imposing at the plate, and he set the tone early with a first-inning blast down the right-field line.

Edisson Gonzalez had an RBI single in the first while Daniel Castro added a run-scoring double in the second for Panama. Those runs got Panama to 4-2 going into the third.

Rintaro Hirano homered to center in the third before Kiyomiya went deep again in the fourth, this time the opposite way to left-center to make it 7-2.

 


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