Central East Maui put up a great fight, but its run ended at the Little League 12-U World Series today after a 4-3 loss to Lake Mary, Fla., in Williamsport, Pa.

Central East Maui, which trailed 4-0 in the third inning, had a runner at third and one out in the sixth inning, but the Lake Mary pitcher got a strikeout and groundout to end it.

Central East Maui scored three runs in the fourth on Gauge Pacheco’s RBI double, another run scored on a fielding error by the shortstop and Matthew Yang hit a run-scoring single.

Lake Mary made a switch on the mound and the pitcher struck out the final two batters to strand the bases loaded.

Hayden Takahashi, Kamalei Leynes-Santos and Yang pitched for Central East Maui (West).

Lake Mary took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a run-scoring groundout.

Lake Mary (Southeast) went up 3-0 in the second on a pair of RBI singles.

In the third, Lake Mary took a 4-0 advantage on a lead-off homer.

Central East Maui (3-2) defeated Salem, N.H. (New England), Hinsdale, Ill. (Great Lakes) and Newtown, Pa. (Mid-Atlantic) at the tournament.

The Valley Isle squad lost to Henderson, Nev. (Mountain) and Lake Mary, Fla.

Texas 5, Nevada 2

Cooper Hastings provided four innings of scoreless relief as Boerne, Texas, held off Henderson, Nev., to reach the United States final at the Little League World Series.

Texas completed a successful run through the winners’ bracket and will play Nevada or Lake Mary, Fla., in the U.S. championship game on Saturday. Nevada dropped into the elimination bracket and will square off with Florida on Thursday.

Nevada drew even at 2-2 in the second when Liam Sparks walked with the bases loaded and Gunner Beranek smacked a run-scoring single.

But Texas responded with a three-run third, and Hastings took care of business the rest of the way. The right-hander allowed just one hit out of the bullpen, walking one and striking out two.

Hastings also had two RBIs in the win. Julian Hurst went 2-for-2 with two runs for Texas.

Taiwan 3, Japan 1

Yu Chia-Jui cracked a two-run double in the first to provide Taoyuan, Taiwan, with all the offense it would need to top Tokyo in an International semifinal.

Taiwan will play in the International final on Saturday. Ciou Zhi-Kai didn’t allow a hit in three innings of shutout relief, walking three and fanning five for Taiwan.

Japan didn’t score until the sixth, when Tsuyoshi Ito doubled home a run. The Japanese could collide with Taiwan once again if they win their elimination game on Thursday.

Venezuela 11, Mexico 3

Willian’s Mora had three hits, including two doubles, while also driving in a run and scoring three times to lead Barquisimeto, Venezuela, to a rout of Tamaulipas, Mexico, in International elimination-bracket action.

Venezuela will take on Japan for a spot in the International championship game. Abraham Lucena complemented Mora with a double and a single for Venezuela, which got 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball out of starter Luis Yepez.

Mexico starter Raul Hernandez Jr. got just outs, yielding three runs and four hits. Santiago Sotelo then took over and was tagged for seven runs (six earned) in 4 1/3 innings. At the plate, Sotelo doubled.

—

Field Level Media contributed to this report.