SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Craig Cole admits he was nervous while batting leadoff for his Saugus, Mass., team.

After he batted just .143 in his first two games, his coaches moved him down to sixth in the order, and now he's batting just fine.

Cole hit an RBI single in the first and scored the eventual winning run in the fourth in a 4-3 victory over Boynton Beach, Fla., on Monday night to win Pool A at the Little League World Series.

"The first couple days, I was batting first and I was nervous,'' Cole said. "They moved me back to get my confidence back, and it worked.''

Michael Broad hit a booming homer over center field, his second of the series, to bring Boynton Beach within 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth, but Cody Emerson hit into a double play to end the game.

Saugus (3-0) will face either Wilmington, Del., or Richmond, Texas, in Thursday's U.S. semifinal. Boynton Beach (2-1) will play in Wednesday's semifinal against Pool B winner Chandler, Ariz.

Mexico and Venezuela advanced to the international semifinals from Pool D. Mexico beat Guam 11-3, and Venezuela defeated Russia 7-1. They'll play Tuesday to determine their semifinal seeding.

In other games, Tallmadge, Ohio, beat Richland, Wash., 5-4; Netherlands Antilles beat Saudi Arabia 9-2; and Japan beat Canada 7-0.

Cole's single to center scored Joseph Kasabuski and put Saugus up 3-0 in the first, a deficit Boynton Beach couldn't overcome.

Tyler Grillo and Dario Pizzano led off the first with singles for Saugus. Grillo scored on a wild pitch, and Pizzano came home on David Ferreira's RBI single.

"These kids are good, they're champions,'' Boynton Beach coach Tony Travis said, "And if they get you down, they don't let you up.''

Devon Travis hit a leadoff homer, his first of three hits, for Boynton Beach in the first, making it 3-1. But Jordan Irene was stranded at third when Broad flied out to center and Richie DeJesus and R.J. Neal struck out.

Boynton Beach pulled within 3-2 in the third when Travis hit a double to left field, then scored on a wild pitch.

"Their No. 1 hitter today, he was roping the ball,'' Saugus manager Rob Rochenski said of Travis. "We play them again and we're going to have think about intentionally walking the leadoff hitter.''

Tyler Calla's RBI single in the fourth scored Cole for a 4-2 lead.

Kasabuski (1-0) earned the win, while Travis (0-1) took the loss.

Ohio 5, Washington 4
Matt Keen's three hits and two runs led Tallmadge, Ohio, over Richland, Wash., in the last Little League World Series game for both teams.

Keen's RBI double gave Tallmadge (1-2) a 3-0 lead in the second. Keen then advanced on a fielder's choice and scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0.

Richland (0-3) pulled within 4-3 on Cody Shepherd's three-run homer to center in the fourth.

Nick Thompson scored the winning run, reaching first on a fielder's choice, then rounding the bases on two throwing errors for a 5-3 lead.

Jamieson Rowe doubled in the sixth, then scored on an unsuccessful throw trying to put out Eric Yardley at first, making it 5-4. But Richland left two runners stranded when Daniel Jacobs hit to the pitcher for the final out.

Netherlands Antilles 9, Saudi Arabia 2
Kevin Moesquit hit a three-run homer in the fourth, and Curacao (1-1) never trailed. Both teams are 1-1 with a shot at reaching the international semifinals.

Mexico 11, Guam 3
Alejandro Manjarrez struck out 10 batters and hit his second homer of the series for Mexico City (2-0), which remains alive for an international semifinal berth. Guam (0-3) will not advance.

Venezuela 7, Russia 1
Adis Portillo pitched allowed one hit in three relief innings, striking out seven batters for Venezuela.

Japan 7, Canada 0
Hirofumi Yamazaki pitched a one-hit shutout, and Shigeki Umeda and Jun Onozawa both hit solo homers.