EASLEY, S.C. — Garrett Rau said he never felt uneasy, even with his team trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning.

"We're too good not to score three runs," Rau said. "I knew we'd come back."

Come back Thousand Oaks did.

Stephen Notaro lit a spark with a solo home run in the fourth and Thousand Oaks sent 11 batters to the plate in a seven-run fifth inning en route to an 8-3 victory over U.S. Central champion Michigan on Monday afternoon in the Big League World Series.

Thousand Oaks, the defending world champion, improved to 2-0 and will play Louisiana, the U.S. Southwest winner, today at 1 p.m. PDT.

Looming Thursday is an important pool-play game against South Carolina District 7 from nearby Greenville, the South Region champion which improved to 2-1 by topping Maryland 14-9 on Monday. The host team from South Carolina District 1 remains tied atop the U.S. bracket at 2-0 with Thousand Oaks.

"It's shaping up for that Thursday night game to be the big one," Thousand Oaks manager Ed Kitchen said.

But Thousand Oaks first had to dispose of a pesky opponent from Grand Rapids, Mich. Pitcher Tyler Berger repeatedly turned back Thousand Oaks early, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the first, then retiring six straight batters in the second and third innings.

Michigan pulled ahead 3-0 in the fourth on four consective hits against Rau, but Notaro's leadoff homer to right in the bottom of the inning was a harbinger of things to come for Thousand Oaks.

"It was huge — it kind of woke the whole dugout up," Rau said. "That's what this team does. Hitting is contagious with us."

It certainly seemed that way in the fifth. After Jason Barmasse walked and Kyle Jones reached on a bloop single to open the inning, Brett Fick laced a run-scoring single down the right-field line to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Jones then scored on a groundout by Notaro to tie the game and Ty Muller followed with a single to drive in Fick and give Thousand Oaks the lead for good. A blooper to left-center by Kyle Fiss was misplayed for an error, allowing Muller to score to make it 5-3, then Collin Lavoie and Anthony Montenegro were both hit by pitches to load the bases.

After a 30-minute lightning delay, Michigan's Tommy Okke came on to replace Berger on the mound, and Barmasse greeted him by hitting a high-bouncing chopper up the middle that was misplayed by the center fielder. Three runs scored on the play and Thousand Oaks was in command, 8-3.

"This is a close-knit group of kids, and poise is something they're very good at," Kitchen said.

Rau, a first-team all-state pick at Camarillo High and a rising freshman at Ventura College, pitched six innings, allowing six hits and striking out nine. He did not walk a batter.

Tyler Peddicord (Thousand Oaks High) wrapped things up, allowing a double but striking out the remaining three batters he faced in the seventh.