Little League World Series 2013 Results: Mexico Beats Panama in Thrilling Battle

There really wasn't much else Jorge Romero could have done. 

With Mexico and Latin America knotted at 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Romero stepped to the plate. "I was just thinking my job was to get a hit and get on base so I could score a run," Romero said, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). 

Well, he did all three with one swing of the bat. 

Romero—who went 0-for-1 with a strikeout during Mexico's 13-0, four-inning drubbing of this same Aguadulce, Panama squad last week—crushed a pitch from Daniel Fernandez over the wall in center field, scoring Jorge Rodriguez to put the Tijuana squad up 4-2. 

But Romero's job wasn't quite done. 

Despite already pitching two shutout innings in relief for Brandon Meza, and despite a 95-minute rain delay, Romero came on in the bottom of the seventh.

It wasn't quite smooth sailing, though.

He gave up a single to Jean Mar Sanchez, who had already scored Panama's two runs on the night. Then, after Fernandez grounded out, Juan Crisp singled, putting the tying run aboard. 

But Mexico manager Francisco Fimbres wasn't about to lose faith in the guy who got them there, and that reassuring confidence paid off. Romero got Jordan Agrazal to ground out—he was originally ruled safe, but a video replay overturned the call—before striking out Rafael Eysseric to end the game. 

All in all, Romero finished with a win, a game-winning home run and a de facto save (although you can't actually get a save if you're the winning pitcher).

Not too shabby for one night. 

Mexico advances to the international championship, where they will get a rematch with Japan. Japan won the first meeting between these teams by a score of 5-2 on Wednesday. 

Here's a look at the most recent results from Williamsport, Pa.:

Note: You can find the complete schedule and all the results here, via LittleLeague.org.