This Title Is Won on Field : Little League: Hess’ pinch-single in sixth inning gives Long Beach a 3-2 victory over Panama.

In the confusion that reigned during the bottom of the sixth inning at the Little League World Series on Saturday, light-hitting Jeremy Hess waited patiently in the Long Beach dugout with a bat in his hands.

With the score 2-2 and the bases loaded, Panama Coach Carlos Botello replaced starting pitcher Alex Beitia with third baseman Abel Navarro, then tried to remove Navarro after the reliever served up two balls to Long Beach catcher Billy Gwinn.

Umpire Andy Konyar wouldn’t allow the switch, because rules require each pitcher to face at least one batter before a change can be made.

After some delay, Navarro struck out Gwinn, setting the stage for Hess to pinch-hit. He drove an 0-and-1 fastball from Navarro into the gap in right-center, scoring pinch-runner Charlie Hayes to give Long Beach its second consecutive Series title with a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory.

Long Beach (24-1) becomes the first American team in the 47-year history of the event to repeat.

Long Beach was awarded the 1992 title after a team from the Philippines was disqualified for using ineligible players. This title was even more sweet, Manager Larry Lewis said, because this team won on the field.

Lewis hesitated in the sixth before he brought Hess in to hit for center fielder Nate Moeiny, and even consulted with third-base coach Jeff Burroughs by shouting across the field from the dugout. Hess, the team’s on-again, off-again third baseman, had only six previous at-bats in the Series and was batting .187 for the season when he stepped to the plate.

“He’s a dead fastball hitter,” Lewis said of Hess. “He was the man for that position at the time.”

The right-handed-hitting Hess liked what he saw when Navarro struck out Gwinn with a succession of high fastballs.

“I didn’t look for the curveball,” the 12-year-old said. “I expected the fastball. I really wanted to hit the ball instead of get a walk.”

Long Beach, which had scored 52 runs and had 48 hits in its first four games of the tournament, was handcuffed most of the game by Beitia. The 85-pound right-hander kept Long Beach off-balance with curveballs and off-speed pitches.

Beitia also pitched carefully to the team’s leading hitter, Sean Burroughs, who walked twice and grounded out.

By pitching carefully, Botello said, he thought his team could stay with Long Beach.

“They are an excellent hitting team,” he said. “We noticed that they had trouble hitting the curveball, however, and also a fastball on the inside part of the plate.”

Brady Werner, the No. 3 pitcher for the U.S. team, also pitched well. He gave up six hits and walked two for his second victory in the tournament.

Panama took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on Navarro’s run-scoring single.

Long Beach tied the score without a hit in the bottom of the fourth as Beitia had a fit of wildness. Burroughs and Werner walked, and Burroughs scored on Beitia’s second wild pitch of the inning.

Burroughs’ throwing error on a relay to third base after a single by Ivan Atencio allowed Onesimo Morales to score from first base in the top of the fifth, but Long Beach tied the score in the bottom of the inning.

Batting with two out, Alex DeFazio got the first hit of the game for Long Beach, bouncing a single through the hole into left field. Burroughs swung at a couple of deliberate balls thrown by Beitia, then walked and Werner drove a 1-and-0 pitch up the middle for a hit. Center fielder Jaime Saldana overran the ball and DeFazio scored to make it 2-2.

Hess’ winning hit followed singles by Timmy Lewis, Chris Miller and Brent Kirkland that loaded the bases.