SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — In the final game of its thrilling roller-coaster ride to a world championship, the Waipi'o Little League baseball team this time took out much of the drama with a couple innings to spare.

Waipi'o routed Mexico, 12-3, yesterday in the most lopsided victory by a United States team over the International Champion since the Little League World Series started including foreign teams in the title game in 1967.

Waipi'o also became only the second team since the first Series in 1947 to score a run in every inning of the championship game.

"It felt really good to be the world champions," said second baseman/shortstop Tanner Tokunaga, "especially (for me) to make the last out."

But long before Tokunaga glided to his left to cleanly field a ground ball by Hector Dragustonovis and made a quick throw to first baseman Khade Paris on the game's final play, the outcome appeared to be decided thanks to hot hitting by Waipi'o and a steady pitching performance by Caleb Duhay.

Waipi'o pounded out 11 hits — including two home runs by Tokunaga and one by Iolana Akau — and was aided by several Mexico miscues: three errors, six wild pitches, three passed balls, nine walks issued and three hit batsmen.

"The kids from Hawai'i are really, really good and they got a great start from the get-go," Mexico manager Gustavo Gomez said through an interpreter. "They are very solid, they did a great job. My hat's off to them, my congratulations."

As in Saturday's U.S. championship game against Lake Charles, La., Waipi'o struck first yesterday in the top of the first inning when Christian "C-boy" Donahue led off with a single to center field, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored one out later when Pikai Winchester hit a single to left that was misplayed by the fielder.

But unlike Saturday, when Waipi'o was limited to one run in the first five innings, this time the hits and runs never stopped coming.

Tokunaga made it 3-0 in the second inning with a towering two-run homer over the fence in left-center. Mexico answered in the bottom half with a solo blast by Jesus Sauceda, but Waipi'o made it 4-1 in the third after two errors and a wild pitch.

Mexico closed to 4-3 on Eduardo Rodriguez's two-run bloop single to right in the bottom of the frame, but Akau responded with a solo blast in the fourth. Waipi'o tacked on two more runs in the inning after three walks and a hit batter to make it 7-3.

After Duhay retired the side in order in the fourth, Waipi'o exploded for four more runs in the fifth on Tokunaga's solo home run to center, an RBI groundout by Paris, Duhay's run-scoring single to right and a passed ball.

Duhay again shut out Mexico in the bottom half, thanks in large part to a spectacular diving catch in right by Akau for the final out.

Waipi'o added a run for good measure in the sixth, and Donahue relieved Duhay with one out in the bottom half and closed out the victory.

After the final out, the players threw their gloves in the air and rushed to the middle of the infield to hug one another and jump for joy.

Manager Timo Donahue, who said he had no doubts about his team's ability to notch another big victory after Saturday's emotional 7-5 comeback win over Lake Charles, could just smile at one last clutch performance by a team that filled its postseason with them.

"These guys have been mentally tough on this ordeal we've been on since July once we left Honolulu, and I didn't think one more day would affect them much," Donahue said.

He added that the players themselves probably do not fully realize what they have just achieved, outlasting thousands of teams to become world champion.

"Even for me, it's surreal," Donahue said.