Defending Maine champion Saco/Maremont Little League entered the final game of the state tournament averaging ten runs per game, and, true to form, tallied ten more in their winner-take-all battle with Falmouth Little League.

But Falmouth had the antidote for Saco's high-octane offense: the ten run inning.

Falmouth scored ten times in the third inning of the championship game at Biddeford Little League's Hill Street Field. The District 6 champions added three more in the fourth, and then held on to top Saco/Maremont, 13-10, to claim the Maine state championship.

The win, Falmouth's second over Saco/Maremont in three state tournament meetings, gave the league its first Maine championship in the major baseball division since 1992, and lifted the league into the New England Region tournament in Bristol, Connecticut.

"These are the best two teams," said Falmouth manager Matt Rogers after the championship game. "To come here in their backyard, and to beat them, means a lot. It's quite an achievement."

Saco jumped to a 4-0 lead in the early innings of the tournament's final game. Kobe Gaudette singled and scored in the first, then the District 4 champions added three more in the second when Haydenn Lehigh slugged an opposite field two-run home run, and Grant Dow delivered a run-scoring double.

Falmouth, meanwhile, managed just two baserunners through the game's first two innings, and its hitters struck out four times. But those offensive challenges evaporated in the third, when Falmouth turned their lineup over and the first nine hitters that came to the plate all reached base.

Two singles and a walk loaded the bases, then Falmouth scratched out its first run when Sam Manganello splashed a single just past the Saco infield. Sean Dilworth drew a bases-loaded walk, then Alex Smith singled home another run to pull Falmouth within a run.

Mike Simonds gave Falmouth the lead with a two-run single to right field, and after a walk, Nate Rogers slammed his first-ever home run -- a grand slam home run just past the outstretched arm of Saco's leaping center fielder.

"Their center fielder (Dow) is unbelievable, and he catches everything," said Matt Rodgers. "He went up for it, and I said 'he just robbed it, didn't he?' Then he came back without the ball, and I said 'wow -- that just happened."

"We couldn't stop it," said Saco/Maremont manager Shawn Gaudette of Falmouth's ten-run onslaught. "That's our biggest downfall in that one inning was that we couldn't control (Falmouth's hitters). We let too many runs (score) in that inning, and it's hard to get them back."

Nate Rodgers didn't have to wait long for his second-ever home run, as he connected for a three-run shot in the fourth that gave Falmouth a 13-5 lead. But Saco, which hit 20 home runs in six state tournament games, wasn't finished, and clawed back into the game with five runs in a fifth inning rally highlighted by Kobe Gaudette's two-run homer.

Saco advanced runners to second and third with one out in the sixth inning, and brought the tying run to the plate before Falmouth reliever Sean Dilworth ended the game with a pair of strikeouts.

"Today wasn't our day, and that's what happens in baseball," said Shawn Gaudette. "For us to fight back and try to get it back was so close."

Saco's penchant for fighting back was well-established, as the team tallied four consecutive wins following a loss to Falmouth in their state tournament opener. The two teams had traded longballs early, with Josh Lefevre and Michael Simonds clearing the fences early for Falmouth, and Will Mitchell doing the same for Saco. Manganello added a two-run shot for Falmouth in the third, and Saco soon tied the game. But Falmouth finally pulled away with six runs in a fourth inning rally highlighted by homers from Simonds and Smith.

Falmouth soon moved into the championship game with a 6-5 victory over Bronco Little League, and Saco began working its way through the bottom bracket. The District 6 winners -- who won state championships in both the major baseball and 10-11 year old baseball divisions in 2013 -- signaled their intent to hang around a bit longer with four home runs in the first inning, and six in the game, during a 12-0 victory over Waldo County Little League. Gaudette, Ben Ham, Ethan Tsomidies, and Calvin Christoforo all homered in Saco's six-run burst in the first inning, then Dow and Pat Sawyer cleared the fences in subsequent innings. The next day, Saco/Maremont added three more round-trippers in an 11-7 win over Auburn Suburban Little League.

Saco was then tested early in an elimination bracket final round encounter with Bronco. Bronco scored five times in the top of the first inning, but Saco responded with three in the bottom of the frame, and added seven more in the second before running out to an 11-5 victory. Gaudette's two-run homer leveled the score in the second, and Ham followed immediately with a solo shot. On the first pitch after a pitching change, Dow also launched a home run. The back-to-back-to-back shots turned a 5-3 deficit into a 7-5 Saco advantage, and the District 4 winners then ran out to the victory.

The win set up a rematch with Falmouth, and Saco forced the tournament to a deciding game with a 10-7 victory. The two teams combined for 17 runs and five home runs in the contest, but the game turned on a pair of defensive plays. The first came in the second inning, when Gaudette snared a screaming line drive off the bat of Simonds to prevent two runs from scoring, and kept the game tied at 2-2. Saco then added four runs in both the third and fourth innings, courtesy of two three-run homers by Will Mitchell. Falmouth rallied late, but the game ended when Dow, the Saco center fielder, made a diving catch on a hard line drive to strand two baserunners and preserve his team's victory.

"It was nerve-wracking right to the end," said Shawn Gaudette. "(Dow) made a great play."

Saco/Maremont's win pushed the tournament to a final game, but Falmouth's offense rose to the task and out-muscled Saco in the title game to claim the state championship.

"This has been an amazing ride, and they're a great group of kids," said Matt Rogers. "And I'm blessed to be able to coach them. We're going to represent Maine as best we can. We're going to give it everything we can."

Falmouth split its four pool games at the New England Region tournament, and forced eventual New England champion Cumberland American (Rhode Island) Little League to eight innings in their semifinal round encounter before dropping a 13-4 decision.