WARNER ROBINS -- It seemed evident by the way Alabama’s Andrew Livingston dug into the batter’s box to lead off the third inning with his team trailing by two runs Friday against North Carolina.

He had a sense of purpose.

Livingston, the Alabama starting pitcher, had labored on the mound to start the game. And the left-hander had just given up a home run to North Carolina’s Holton Clifton, the imposing opposing pitcher who had struck him out in his first trip to the plate.

Livingston, however, singled to ignite an eight-run inning that allowed Alabama to send every hitter to the plate -- and then some. Clifton, who baffled Alabama early with his power pitching, was chased from the game before Livingston’s second at-bat in the inning yielded a two-run home run and put Alabama in front for good on its way to a 14-11 victory in the opening round of the Little League Southeast Regional.

“We made some really good two-strike swings to keep the line moving,” Alabama coach Danny Carlson said. “It’s all about momentum right there.

“(Clifton) is a really good pitcher, so we felt fortunate to get him out of the game right there because he was so dominant early.”

Home runs by Coleman Sawyer and Nathan Henson in the fifth inning allowed North Carolina to trim the score to 10-6. Alabama added four runs in its final inning for a seemingly-comfortable eight-run lead but had to sweat out a determined North Carolina squad’s frenzied comeback in the final at-bat.

Phillip Sanderson’s two-run home run keyed a five-run burst, and North Carolina looked poised to score more runs before Alabama sent relief pitcher Josh Lewis to the mound to try and close out the game. He coolly struck out two North Carolinians to earn the save.

“That’s why (Lewis) was in the game,” Carlson said. “He’s got a lot of guts.”

Both teams scratched out 11 hits. The difference was defense. North Carolina committed five errors to Alabama’s one.

“We haven’t made five errors this season, and we made five in one game,” North Carolina manager Jeff Henson said. “You just can’t do that against a team of that caliber.”

Livingston threw 49 pitches in 2-2/3 innings. He allowed three hits and one walk and struck out five batters.

“He was a bulldog out there,” Carlson said.

Alabama’s Grayson Williams and Kyle Chandler went 2-for-3. Brooks Carlson drove in three runs, while Micah Pepper, Josh Lewis, Jacob Poeschl and Livingston each drove in two runs.

North Carolina’s Gregory Hardison, Nathan Henson, Sawyer and Sanderson each had two hits.