The seventh inning provided a test that the New England Region champions nearly failed.

Their reward for passing? A trip to the Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series championship game.

Stamford survived a run scoring on an error and another run scoring on a wild pitch, and used a pickoff play to end the game to secure a 3-2 victory over Eagle Pass, Texas in the first semifinal at Diethrick Park.

“I was going to throw up in the dugout. I was very nervous,” Stamford head coach Mike Riveles said postgame. “It’s 13U baseball … nothing surprises you.”

Stamford, Conn. second baseman Dylan Riveles tags out Eagle Pass, Texas runner Eli Moreno in a rundown during a Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series semifinal Friday at Diethrick Park in Jamestown. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

The nailbiting win sends Stamford into today’s 1 p.m. title game against Tallahassee, Florida, which beat Price, Utah 4-3 in Friday’s second semifinal.

Stamford coasted into the seventh inning with a 3-0 lead, thanks in large part to the left arm of Jack Patterson, his team’s Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game, who tossed 6 2/3 innings of four-hit shutout baseball, striking out nine and walking none.

“It was very tough,” Patterson said of facing the Texas lineup, which had scored 32 runs in four pool play games. “I had to start mixing it up with curveballs and pitch accordingly.”

The only time Eagle Pass got a runner to third base was in the fourth inning when leadoff batter Julian Palacios reached second base on an error and advanced to third on a wild pitch with no outs. But Patterson and his Stamford teammates buckled down to get out of the inning unscathed with a strikeout, a pop-up to Patterson, and a groundout to Ben Henderson at third base.

“It was very loud,” Patterson said. “Everyone was standing up and screaming.”

Eagle Pass, Texas shortstop Mason Villarreal tags out Stamford, Conn. runner Ben Henderson attempting to steal during a Babe Ruth 13-year-old World Series semifinal Friday at Diethrick Park in Jamestown. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Patterson nearly finished a complete game, but with a runner on first and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, his strikeout pitch was wild. Jesus Calderon reached on the strikeout and after the throwdown to first base was late, Stamford threw the ball across the infield attempting to get Leandro Mares out trying to get to third base. That throw was wild, allowing Mares to score and Calderon to end up at second base.

“It’s a huge spot. These kids want this really bad. We talked about locking in and playing for each other,” Riveles said. “You see the energy. They love each other, they play for each other. It’s never easy, but they got the job done.”

That pitch happened to be Patterson’s 95th of the game, meaning Stamford had to turn to Michael Nguyen for the final out. Joshua Montes greeted the left-hander with a single and then stole second to leave runners at second and third.

Nguyen then unleashed a wild pitch with Villarreal at the plate that allowed Eagle Pass to race home with its second run. After a walk and a stolen base, runners were again at second and third with two outs.

With a 3-2 count on Aron Gonzalez and the Eagle Pass runner dancing down the third base line, Nguyen stepped off the rubber and sprinted toward the runner, flipping the ball to Henderson for a tag before the runner could get back, ending the game.

“I definitely didn’t see it ending like that. I didn’t see a pickoff at third to end the game,” Riveles said. “What a game … it was crazy.”

“The kid was almost halfway down the line,” Patterson added. “You have to get him from there.”

Luke Baker hit an RBI double and Dylan Riveles laid down a perfect squeeze bunt on a full count with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning for Stamford’s first two runs.

“I think he knows that he has to get it down or he’s not getting dinner that night,” Coach Riveles, Dylan’s dad, joked.

Riveles also drove in his team’s third run with an RBI single in the sixth inning.

“We definitely have our guys at the bottom of the order who are little and not as strong, but are very good situational hitters,” Riveles added. “On a 3-2 squeeze, we know that if he doesn’t get a good pitch to bunt it’s ball four. Today, I look like a good coach.”

Calderon, the Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game for Eagle Pass, struck out three on the mound and also singled at the plate.

“That Texas team is tough, they’re big and they’re physical, they’re also the nicest people. The coaches are great dudes,” Riveles said. “This was just a good, classic baseball game.”

Eagle Pass, the Southwest Region champion, will take on Price in the 10 a.m. consolation game today at Diethrick Park.

“They ran through as the No. 1 seed,” Riveles said. “Everyone was saying they were the team to beat, but you can’t count out the boys from Connecticut.”