VILSECK, Germany — Ace right-hander Dustin Linger will take the ball Friday when Ramstein takes on Ukraine in a do-or-die game in Little League Baseball’s six-team European Big League regional championship tournament at the Big Mike Youth Sports Complex.

Linger, 1-0 with a no-decision in Ramstein’s first three games, will try to pitch Ramstein (3-1) into Saturday’s 10 a.m. championship game against unbeaten South Africa.

Ukraine (3-1) rallied past Romania (1-3) 6-4 Thursday in the round-robin tournament for teams of 16-19-year-olds.

The Ramstein-Ukraine winner advances to the championship game against South Africa, and the winner of that game goes to the Big League World Series in Easley, S.C., Aug. 2-9.

South Africa (4-0) assured itself a spot in the title game when it hammered Lithuania (1-3) 13-0 on Thursday. Right-hander Dominic Boyce went the distance for South Africa in a game called after five innings by the 10-run mercy rule.

South Africa is supposed to play Poland on Friday, but the Poles, who brought just nine players to the tournament, were forced to forfeit after injuries in their opening game.

Ramstein collected a forfeit from Poland on Thursday.

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