Columbus, Ga., second baseman Josh Lester, left, cheers as he rounds third on his way to score after a home run Cody Walker in the third inning of the World Series Championship Monday.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — With his team clinging to a one-run lead and pitcher Kyle Carter in a jam, Columbus, Ga. manager Randy Morris visited the mound to give his ace a pep talk.

A Little League World Series championship hung in the balance. Carter didn't disappoint.

After walking one batter to lead off the inning and hitting another with two outs, Carter got Ryoya Sato to bounce weakly to second to end the game and secure Columbus' 2-1 win over Kawaguchi City, Japan to win the Little League crown.

The chants of "USA! USA!" spread through the crowd after the kids from Columbus threw their gloves toward the sky and celebrated the second straight Little League title for an American team.

"I just had a shot of adrenaline on the mound," Carter said about the decisive sixth. "I just had to throw the ball how I usually do and we'd win the world championship."

Carter struck out 11 and Cody Walker hit a two-run homer off Japan ace Go Matsumoto for Columbus. Their victory came a year after Ewa Beach, Hawaii beat a squad from Willemstad, Curacao for the championship.

A U.S. team hadn't won back-to-back Little League titles with different teams since 1982-83 when Kirkland, Wash., and Marietta, Ga., celebrated in South Williamsport. That Marietta team was the only other club from Georgia to make it to the tournament.

"That is pretty awesome," Morris said. "We've been here twice and won it twice, so maybe we should try this more."

Long Beach, Calif., was a repeat champion in 1992-93, though the first victory was awarded after a Philippines squad was stripped of the title for using over age players.

Kawaguchi City manager Shigeru Hidaka called Carter's performance "fantastic."

"His curveball was right on," Hidaka said through an interpreter. "He pitched a great game."

Just 13, Matsumoto was pretty good too on the mound for Japan, except for Walker's shot in the third inning that followed a baserunning blunder. Matsumoto finished with nine strikeouts.Carter took off from first on Josh Lester's single to center but didn't heed the stop sign thrown by Morris at third. Carter was nailed at home for the second out, sliding into the catcher's shin guards well short of the plate.It didn't matter, because Walker then hit his opposite-field shot over the right field fence for Columbus' only two runs."It feels great," Walker said with a grin.Lester pumped his fist as he rounded third, and Morris got so excited as Walker circled the bases that his hat fell off. Jubilant teammates greeted Walker at the plate."All year, we have found a deep strength. When he hit the home run, I think we thought we would still win," Hidaka said. "We have come back before, and the kids thought we would come back again."It wasn't to be. A sign in the Columbus cheering section read, "Georgia, Not Just Peaches." Now, it's also home to the best team in Little League baseball.After the game, the players picked up fistfuls of dirt and placed them in plastic bags as keepsakes. Carter found his father, coach Richard Carter, and gave him a hug.

Kawaguchi City, Japan, pitcher Go Matsumoto, reacts his team's 2-1.