SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) – Tears in the dugout turned to a celebration on the field when Saugus, Mass., which blew an eight-run lead, scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and beat Richmond, Texas, 14-13 Thursday night in the U.S. semifinals of the Little League World Series.

Matthew Muldoon’s RBI single tied the game in the seventh inning, and David Ferreira drove in the winning run with a two-out swinging bunt. Dario Pizzano began jumping in celebration as he crossed the plate, while Ferreira, who didn’t immediately start running after hitting the ball, barely beat the throw to first to give Saugus the victory.

“I thought it was a foul at first,” Ferreira said. “Then I saw it was fair, and I just started running my fastest.”

Saugus (4-0) will play Boynton Beach, Fla., in Saturday night’s U.S. championship game. Saugus beat Boynton Beach 4-3 in pool play Monday night.

Eli Sepulveda hit an RBI double and Cody Robinson a two-run homer that traveled an estimated 283 feet in the top of the seventh to give Richmond (2-2) a 13-10 lead.

But Robinson walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, forcing a switch to Randal Grichuk, who had yet to pitch in the series.

Dario Pizzano’s RBI single and an error on the throw to the plate brought Saugus within 13-12. Grichuk then got two strikes on Muldoon, bringing tears to the eyes of at least one of his teammates in the Saugus dugout.

However, Muldoon then lined a single to right that scored Tyler Grillo and tied the score.

“I was making plans for Saturday, then halfway through (the seventh) I was making plans to go home,” Saugus manager Rob Rochenski said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

Ferreira then tapped a ball right down the third base line that, at first, seemed like it was heading foul. It stayed fair, however, and Ferreira beat the throw to first by half a step while Pizzano raced home with the winning run.

Players who began crying in the dugout as their eight-run lead evaporated soon joined Pizzano in a celebration on the field as their fans chanted, “Saugus, Saugus!”

“That was probably the most exciting game I’ve ever been a part of or watched or coached or played in,” Rochenski said. “That was unbelievable.”

Muldoon (2-0) earned the win; Grichuk (0-1) took the loss.

“To see it end on a swinging bunt is hard to swallow,” Richmond manager Jim Michalek said. “At no point did I think that we had it won, and at no point did I think they had it won.”

Earlier Thursday, Japan beat Mexico 7-1 to advance to their fourth straight international championship game, where they will face a team from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, for the third consecutive time.

The world championship is Sunday.

Grichuk started the Richmond rally with a solo homer in the fourth to make it 10-3. Jimmy Michalek tripled, then scored on an infield error to make it 10-4 in the fifth.

Grichuk’s second home run, a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth, made it 10-6, and with two outs Robinson walked to load the bases. And infield error on Garrett Staudt’s grounder down the third base line allowed two runs to score, making it 10-8, and Robert Psenka’s RBI single made it 10-9. Wayne Willis’ RBI single, a chopper over the pitcher’s head and into center field, tied the game at 10 before Grichuk struck out to end the inning.

Saugus went up 3-2 in the third on Pizzano’s RBI single, and Joseph Kasabuski drove in a run with a fielder’s choice to make it 4-2. In the third inning, Saugus scored two runs on an infield error, and Grillo hit an RBI single to make it 7-2. Kasabuski’s three-run homer to left made it 10-2.

Richmond tied the game 2-2 in the second on Brian Foster’s two-run homer to center field.

Ferreira hit a two-run double in the second to start the scoring for Saugus.

Japan 7, Mexico 1

Shigeki Umeda led off the second with a home run, and Japan (4-0) took a 3-0 lead when two runners scored on a wild pitch. Umeda’s double in the third scored two more runs, and Yuutaro Tanaka hit a two-run single in the fourth to make it 7-0.

Mexico (2-2) managed a short rally in the bottom of the fourth. Alejandro Manjarrez hit his fourth homer of the series, a shot to left field, and Jose Santos followed that with a standup double. Mexico left two runners stranded when Daniel Velazquez struck out to end the inning.

Hirofumi Yamazaki (2-0) earned the win, striking out eight in four innings. Manjarrez (1-1) took the loss.

AP-ES-08-21-03 2242EDT