By the third inning, those nerves were dashed. And by the sixth, those nerves had turned into celebrations.

Aruba scored three runs on Thursday at Lamade Stadium to defeat Barquisimeto, Venezuela in the losers’ bracket final on the International side, 3-1. The win advances Aruba to Saturday’s International championship game at Lamade Stadium against Chinese Taipei.

“You need to come out attacking, I can’st stress that enough. With this group, whenever they play for me, I program them that we need to attack right away,” Aruba manager Max Arendsz said. “So being the visitors provided us to put one run on them and if they came out on the field, they throw some base on balls, when (Anthony) Santos got on, they were under pressure.”

Santos reached after being hit by a pitch and Arnold Gismar Martha was walked, putting two runners on. A few batters later, Emerson Mercado had a sacrifice fly for an RBI to make it a 1-0 game.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Caribbean players pay their respects to the bust of Howard J. Lamade at the end of the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

Venezuela manager Luis Bermudez declined to attend the postgame press conference for a second consecutive game after losing.

Venezuela has a team that can hit, but Aruba pitchers Jay-Sell Giron and Emerson Mercado combined to limit the Latin America Regional champions to just five hits, all of which were singles.

“I’ve been watching these guys so I know everyone in the back of me are great players,” Mercado said. “When I told him to attack the zone, just throw strikes and let them hit. I felt very confident because I know our defense is strong.”

Mercado threw 55 pitches and went four innings in relief of Giron. Mercado struck out four and allowed just three hits with two walks.

Venezuela went through five pitchers in their loss to Chinese Taipei and didn’t have as much depth to throw. Francisco Rivero got the loss after throwing 2 2/3 innings against Aruba. However, Rivero and Saul Vegas Duran combined for 11 strikeouts on Thursday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Caribbean fans celebrate their victory at the end of the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

“Right now nobody has pitchers, this game today, everybody burned their pitchers. So we’re digging into No. 4s, No. 5s, No. 6s,” Arendsz said. “One with Venezuela, one that came next was better than the first one. He was throwing more strikes. You come from one side to the other, and it takes kids a little while to adjust. I think they did good with that because they kept us at bay. That speed, they hit very well, but change of arm, that changes the whole perspective.”

After a scoreless second inning, Aruba opened the third with two quick outs. Rylan Quandt was walked and after he stole second, Jayderick Wedrfoor drove in him on a shallow RBI single for a 2-0 lead. Aruba would have Santos and Martha both reach on walks to load the bases, but Venezuela got out of the jam with a big strikeout.

It was similar in the fourth inning as Aruba would once again have the bases loaded but wouldn’t be able to get a run to cross home plate and kept it a narrow 2-0 lead.

Aruba’s final run came in the top of the sixth inning. Santos would walk — his third time reaching base without recording a hit on Thursday — and Aruba loaded the bases with a single into left by Martha and a shallow single to left by Diliano Raven. A sacrifice fly to right field by Isaac Arendsz brought in the game’s third run, but Venezuela got out of the jam from there.

Aruba would have at least two runners stranded on base in five of the six innings.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Caribbean players tip their hats to their fans after their victory in the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

Venezuela scored its lone run in the bottom of the sixth inning to avoid the shutout. Samuel Castillo reached on a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Following a strikeout by Santiago Martinez, Alam Parra reached on an error which allowed Castilo to score and cut the deficit to two runs.

However Venezuela wouldn’t be able to rally back from there. Francico Rivero popped up to third base and a strikeout ended the game as Aruba’s fans and players cheered in unison after the final out.

“People ask me how do I feel, I can’t put it into words. I’ve never been so deep in the World Series tournament, everything that comes now is new,” Arendsz said. “It’s amazing. The kids are having a lot of fun. That’s very important to me. They’re also learning a lot, so it’s a nice learning experience for them when they get the strikeouts, I say be thankful and don’t get mad. Maybe next time you’ll get a hit.”

Liam Pena Caraballo led Aruba by going 2 for 2. Zaylon Dreischor (1 for 2), Rylan Quandt (1 for 1, walk, run), Jayderick Wederfoor (1 for 2, RBI), Raven (1 for 3) and Martha (1 for 1, run) all collected singles for the Caribbean Regional champions. Venezuela’s offense was led by Parra (1 for 1, walk), Fabricio Perdomo Canelon (1 for 2), Jose Jimenez (1 for 2), Jesus Gomez (1 for 2) and Argenis Villanueva (1 for 1) as all five hit singles.

Aruba made history throughout this year’s Little League World Series. Aruba won four games this year, the most the nation has ever won in a single tournament, and is playing in the International championship game for the first time ever at the World Series.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Latin America players regroup after their defeat in the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

That game Saturday is at 12:30 p.m.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Caribbean players pay their respects to the bust of Howard J. Lamade at the end of the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Anthony Santos (15) reacts after being hit by a pitch during the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Caribbean’s Arnold Gismar Martga beats the tag at third attempted by Latin America’s Samuel Castillo during the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Jay-Sell Giron starts out on the mound for Caribean during the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Caribbean fans cheer during the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Seats in the Venezuela parents section are filled with players photos during the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Caribbean fans cheer during the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Francisco Rivero starts out on the mound for Latin America during the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Emerson Mercado takes over on the mound for during the International game of the Little League World Series between Latin America and Caribbean at Lamade Stadium on Thursday.