Pennsylvania to face Japan for Little League title

A pair of thrilling walk-off victories on Saturday propelled Mid-Atlantic (Pennsylvania) and Japan (Tokyo) into the 2015 Little League World Series championship game at Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pa., this afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.

Lewisberry, Penn., will be seeking the state's first Little League World Series championship since 1960, when Levittown accomplished it. It will have to go through Japan, making its seventh championship game appearance in the past 12 years.

Chayton Krauss laced a run-scoring single in bottom of the sixth inning Saturday to break a 2-2 tie with Pearland, Texas, and give Pennsylvania a 3-2 victory for its first U.S. championship since 1990.

Japan was held without a hit until the start of extra innings in the International Finals against Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. Yugo Aoki started the seventh with a single and came around to score on a fielder's choice off the bat of Koki Jo for a 1-0 victory.

Both teams enter the championship game unbeaten in the 2015 tournament.

Japan defeated Asia-Pacific, Mexico (twice) and Latin America, and the winning margin was never more than two runs. The Tokyo team is aiming to become just the second Little League with three championships, joining Seoul.

This Kitasuna Little League last won the International championship in 2007, and won the World Series in 2001 and 2002. A team from Japan has brought home the title three of the last four years.

This Pennsylvania team had made three trips to the Little League World Series since 2010, but all three times it lost to the eventual U.S. champions. It rode to this championship thanks in part to power -- Cole Wagner leads all players with four homers -- but has also won two of its four games via shutouts.