Panama ‘advance’ to int’l champ’ship game of LLWS

Mexico shutout Australia 10-0

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Panama, Aug 25, (AP): Esmith Pineda smashed a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning and Panama beat South Korea 3-2 on Wednesday night for a spot in the international championship game of the Little League World Series.

Tomas Sarmiento and Carlos Gonzalez both reached on walks to set the table for Pineda’s shot to deep center field to give the team from Aguadulce a 3-2 lead.

Seum Kwon led off the top of the sixth by laying down a successful bunt. It was South Korea’s first hit of the game. He advanced to second on passed ball and went to third on a wild pitch with two outs but Youbin Choi grounded out to the shortstop.

It was the first loss for South Korea in 14 LLWS games. The club from Seoul will face Mexico in an elimination game on Thursday.

South Korea scored two runs in the fourth without the benefit of a hit. Jungtaek Ru walked to lead off the inning and had a heads-up play to reach second while the Panama catcher was distracted. He scored on a throwing error to first base and Choi’s sacrifice fly scored Kwon for a 2-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Jose Angel Leal struck out 10 of 11 batters in 3-2/3 innings and Mexico eased past Australia 10-0 in four innings on Wednesday in an elimination game of the Little League World Series.

Angel Leal threw 51 pitches and only allowed one hit on Clayton Campbell’s single in the first inning.

The first three Mexico batters reached base in the first and the club from San Nicolas took a 2-0 lead when Patricio Juarez and Gael Isaac Cortez scored on wild pitches.

Mexico scored six runs in the third inning. Angel Leal hit a solo home run on the second pitch of the inning for a 3-0 lead. Mexico loaded the bases with no outs and pinch-hitter Diego Cantu lifted a shot over the center fielder to score two. Fabian Alejandro Mar also had a two-run double to make it 7-0 and he scored on a passed ball.

Victor Juarez hit a two-run home run deep over the left-center wall in the fourth for Mexico’s fifth homer of the LLWS.