In a true nail-biter, Latin America defeated the champs from Canada 5-4.

In the bottom half of the sixth with two outs, Alberto Baez singled in Roy Refungol and Junior Valero to win the ball game.

"I though it was going to be caught," Baez said through an interpreter. "I feel proud to help my team out."

Baez is no stranger to coming up big in important games. In the Latin America Regional final, Venezuela was losing 7-4 going into the bottom of the sixth. Baez led off the inning by getting on base which helped his team come back for an 8-7 victory.

"He is a little boy with a big heart," said Venezuela manager Eduvino Quevedo.

The comeback inning on Tuesday started with a leadoff walk to Juan Figueroa. Refungol then singled to left, and Valero tried to advance the runners with a bunt. Canada got the force out at third, so runners remained at first and second. Larry Gonzalez flied out to center, but both runners tagged up, setting the table for Baez.

The scoring started with Canada taking the early lead in the first with an Aaron Cabral two-run homerun. Then in the third, Cabral, Olibera, and Ozzie Diaz led off the inning with three straight hits. Cabral scored on a wild pitch, and that was the only run that crossed the plate in the inning.

Latin America came back in the bottom of the inning with Ruben Mavarez’s two run homer. Three batters later, Juan Figueroa tied the game with a solo shot.

Canada broke the 3-3 tie in the fifth when Ozzie Diaz hit a ground ball to shortstop Ruben Mavarez. Mavarez overthrew the second baseman on a double-play attempt, and that allowed Julian Olibera to reach third and Diaz to reach second. Olibera then scored when right fielder Elvis Leon had an erratic throw to the infield. Diaz went to third, but was out at the plate when he attempted to steal home on a wild pitch.

After the win, Quevedo was still not pleased with his team’s performance. "We didn’t play better today," he said. "This team has been a big run-scoring team in the past, and we’re still not scoring a lot of runs here. The players that usually do well at the plate are not hitting. The little guys are doing it."

Latin America now waits to see if they will play in Thursday’s International Championship. It is looking good for the Venezuelan club.

"The key is to keep the players calm for the game," Quevedo said. "I think they are more focused now, but it took them a while to get going."