Taiwan held Florida off for 5 2/3 innings in the final game of the Little League World Series on Sunday.

But Florida sent the game into overtime with the last out and secured a 2-1 victory with a chaotic walk-off bunt in the eighth inning.

Starting in the eighth inning after six innings of regulation, the LLWS offense begins the inning with a runner on second base. With the game tied 1-1 at the end of the eighth inning, Florida’s Hunter Alexander laid down a leadoff bunt to move the runner to third base. But no one covered first base when the throw was made, so the game-winning run was scored when the ball bounced into the outfield.

The victory by the team from Lake Mary, a suburb of Orlando, is the first of nine LLWS final appearances by teams from Florida. Taiwan thus secured its 18th LLWS title, which would also have been the first since 1996.

It was an agonizing loss for Taiwan after it entered the finals with a 5-0 record in LLWS play. Taiwanese players cried on the field at the end of the game. Players from both teams hugged and shook hands before leaving the field.

Taiwan scores first, lets Florida down early

Taiwan began scoring in the first inning after Florida pitcher Jacob Bibaud issued walks early in the game. Hu Yen-Chun brought Chiu Wei-Che home with a two-out single that made it through the left side of the infield, giving Taiwan a 1-0 lead.

Taiwan then had all the bases loaded with two outs after a hit-by-pitch by Bibaud, but Florida got out of the inning allowing just a single run. From there, a series of missed opportunities in Florida’s offense prevented the team from getting on the scoreboard for most of regulation time.

Florida keeps letting runners down

Taiwanese starting pitcher Ciou Zhi-Kai managed two walks with two outs in the first inning, but he struck out DeMarco’s home run and finished the inning without allowing a run.

After a scoreless second, Florida had its best early chance to score but couldn’t get a hit. Zhi-Kai managed two walks and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases for Florida with no outs. But he induced a double play with a hard-hit ball to third base that produced no run and ended the inning with a strikeout.

Florida then left runners on first and second base with one out in the third inning. In the fourth inning, they left a runner on third base.

Taiwan misses a scoring opportunity with the bases full

In the fifth inning, it was Florida’s turn to get out of a tight spot. Lathan Norton replaced Bibaud on the mound after a double put Taiwanese runners on second and third base with one out. Norton then walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but he induced two consecutive flyouts to left field to end the inning and keep Florida up 1-0.

Florida was unable to capitalize in the second half of the inning. Wei-Che replaced Zhi-Kai on the mound and eventually secured a Florida runner on second base with a strikeout to Hunter Alexander to end the inning.

A scoreless start to the sixth inning gave Florida a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime. Chase Anderson reached first base on a hit-by-pitch from Wei-Che and brought the tying run to first base.

Wei-Che then worked a two-out walk to put runners on first and second base, allowing Mieses some late-inning heroics. He hit a 2-0 drive into shallow left field that allowed Anderson to score from second base. Taiwan then secured the third out in the sixth inning, sending the game into overtime.

Taiwan had a chance to take the lead in the seventh inning, but reliever Lathan Norton got out of the inning with a pop-up, leaving Taiwanese runners on first and second base.

Florida had the chance to win as seventh

Then Florida missed another chance to score in the seventh inning. With a runner on first base and two outs, Christopher Chikodroff hit a line drive that rolled into the left corner. Luis Calo had a chance to score from first base, but Florida manager Jonathan Anderson stopped him at third base.

The third baseman botched the cutoff throw, but Calo had already returned to third after his first round to home base. Taiwan then secured an inning-ending strikeout and sent the game into the eighth inning, where the offense begins the inning with a runner on second base.

Taiwan failed to score in the top of the inning, allowing Florida’s walk-off win in the second half.

Taiwan’s 17 LLWS titles through Sunday were the most by an international team. However, they have not won a championship since 1996. Japan has since taken over as the dominant international team, and has claimed eight LLWS titles since Taiwan’s last LLWS title, for a total of 11 titles.

Florida ended an eight-game winless finals streak, the longest ever for a U.S. team. It battled through the losers’ bracket to get there after losing its third game of the tournament. From there, it won five consecutive elimination games, including Sunday’s final.