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Nailbiting finish Tokyo survives late Toronto rally to win 9-8
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) -- Reliever Daiki Ichimura got the game's final out as Tokyo survived Toronto's six-run, sixth-inning rally to pull out a 9-8 victory Monday at the Little League World Series. Summoned to the mound after Julian Olibera's two-out, three-run homer cut Tokyo's lead to one, Ichimura got Ozzie Diaz to pop out to second baseman Yuusaku Nakanish to end the game. Toronto's rally overshadowed Tokyo starter Kazuma Yamada's great pitching and offensive performance. Yamada -- pulled after the fifth inning -- threw a three-hitter, smacked two home runs and drove in six runs. With the win, Tokyo (2-0) all but mathematically assured itself of a berth in Thursday's International Pool final following Sunday's 10-0 win over Maracaibo, Venezuela. With a comfortable 9-2 lead, Tokyo manager Masumi Ohmae elected to sit his starter in favor of his son, Hayato Ohmae. The younger Ohmae gave up six runs -- all earned -- on five hits before giving way to Ichimura. Tokyo's Yuusaku Nakanishi had two hits, including a home run to lead off the fifth, while Yamada finished with three hits and three runs scored and now leads the tournament with eight RBIs. Yamada had a three-run shot in the first inning and a solo shot in the sixth. Toronto's Greg Chong had two RBIs, including a solo homer in the fifth. Olibera finished with three hits and Justin Hatulan had an RBI double. Leading 3-0, Tokyo added two more runs with a two-out rally in the third, one scoring on Toronto shortstop Damien Eccleton's error, the other on Takashi Ozawa's single. After the Canadians scored their first run, courtesy of two Yamada errors, Tokyo responded with two more runs in the fourth to go up 7-1. Yamada drove in both runs with a high pop that left fielder Aaron Cabral appeared to lose in the sun. Chong, Toronto's starter, went four innings, allowing seven runs on six hits. While Tokyo manager Masumi Ohmae blamed himself for inserting his son in relief in the sixth, Toronto Manager David Trimble was bolstered by the way his team didn't give up. "Let me put it this way. We'd love to have a shot at Japan again in the playoff game," Trimble said, referring to Thursday's International Pool final. Masumi Ohmae agreed, initially saying he would like to face Toronto once more.
Then, speaking through interpreter Bill Lundy, a smiling Ohmae rephrased his answer, saying: "We'd like to beat them again in the International Championship."
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