After West O'ahu rallied to tie the game at 6 with a three-run sixth inning, Memea, the first batter in the seventh and first extra inning, slammed his homer on a 3 ball, 2 strike count.

"I just wanted to make contact with the ball," Memea told ABC-TV. "I'm excited I hit the home run. We're the world champions!"

Said manager Layton Aliviado: "We did it. I knew we could do it because we have great hitters."

West O'ahu, the United States champion, finished the tournament 6-0. Curacao, the International champ, finished 5-1.

Sorick Liberia blasted a two-run homer to left field in a three-run fifth inning to give Curacao a 6-3 lead.

West O'ahu scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. Quentin Guevara and Zachary Rosete had run-scoring singles and the third run scored on a ground ball.

Vonn Fe'au, left, and teammates celebrate their Little League World Series victory. Carolyn Kaster • Associated Press

Vonn Fe'au, pitching in relief, then got the side out in the top of the seventh, including striking out two of Curacao's most dangerous hitters, Jurickson Profar and Liberia.

West O'ahu struck first in the second inning. Guevara singled when the ball ricocheted off the first basemen and into right field and went to second on a passed ball. After Ty Tirpak struck out swinging, Rosete singled to left, driving in Guevara. However, Rosete was thrown out trying to take second on the play. Layson Aliviado flied out to end the inning.

Curacao came back with three runs in the top of the third. With one out, Denjerick Virginie bunted on to first and was replaced with pinch-runner Rudimichaell Brandao. Christopher Garia struck out, but Brandao went to second on a passed ball. Reyshelon Carolina walked, then Profar singled to right to score Brandao. On the play, during a rundown, Carolina scored when he got past Guevara who had the ball. An TV instant replay appeared to show Guevara tagging Carolina on the right foot. Liberia then singled to center to score Profar with the third run.

West Oahu used back-to-back homers from Kini Enos and Alaka'i Aglipay to start the third to tie the game at 3. On a 3 balls, 1 strike count, Enos' hit a towering homer to center field. Aglipay followed with his to left-center field.

In Curacao's fifth, Profar reached on an infield single to third before Liberia, playing in his second World Series, hit his homer to left. Vonn Fe'ao replaced Enos on the mound and gave up a homer to Darren Seferina to give Curacao a 6-3 lead.

Dozens of fans from Hawai'i cheered on their team in Lamade Stadium. Gene J. Puskar • Associated Press

Garia put down the side — the heart of West O'ahu's power batting order — in the bottom of the fifth.

West O'ahu, which won the state and Northwest Regional titles, beat Rancho Buena Vista, Calif., 6-1 to reach the final. Curacao shut out Japan, 2-0, in its semifinal.

West O'ahu was the second team from Hawai'i to reach the Little League championship game. Pearl City lost to Taiwan, 10-0, in the 1988 final.

Today's game capped a successful summer for Hawai'i's youth baseball teams. Five teams played in World Series across the Mainland in the past two weeks.