Motegi’s RBI single in 7th sends Japan to LLWS title game with 3-2 win over Taiwan

Japan moves on to LLWS title game

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Ryo Motegi hit a two-out grounder through the infield to send Tokyo, Japan, to the Little League World Series title game with a dramatic 3-2 victory in seven innings Saturday over Kaoshiung, Taiwan.

Masaya Ishii singled to left and a wild pitch sent the runner to second. After moving to third on a groundout, pinch runner Ryusuke Ikeda scored the winning run after Motegi’s hit slipped just past shortstop Chen-Wei Chen into center.

Japan advanced to its first title game since 2007, and will play Texas or Hawaii on Sunday.

Ryota Norimatsu tied the game 2-2 on a single with one out in the bottom of the sixth, after Shao-Fei Huang had cruised on the mound. Huang struck out nine.

(This version CORRECTS score to 2-2 in last paragraph.)