Chandler National North Little League used a pair of big innings to turn a 2-1 advantage into a 13-4 victory in the Arizona state championship game at Rio Vista Park in Peoria.

Chandler tallied three runs in the fourth inning to stretch their lead against Gilbert American Little League, then sealed the win with an eight-run burst in the sixth.

The victory gave Chandler its fifth state championship in the major baseball division since 2003, and a bookend to Chandler National South Little League's 2013 state championship. Chandler National North advanced the Arizona champions into the West Region tournament in San Bernardino, California.

Kyle Ponzo paced Chandler in the championship game, throwing a 76-pitch complete game and collecting a pair of hits at the plate. Ponzo struck out seven and surrendered only four hits to help Chandler to its second win over Gilbert American in as many games.

John Hansell singled and scored in the first inning for Chandler, and Carter Wilson opened the second with a double before scoring to give the District 13 champions an early 2-0 advantage. But Cade Camac's one-out home run in the bottom of the frame halved the deficit, and Chandler maintained its one-run advantage through three innings.

In the fourth, though, Chandler National North began to pull away. Ponzo opened the inning with a single to left field, and special pinch runner Carson Slater wheeled around to third when Wilson reached on an error. Shane Anderson's sacrifice fly scored Slater, and Wilson later scored on Kay Tuan Schnulo's groundout. Two batters later, a passed ball scored Kaden Hattendorf to extend Chandler's lead to 5-1.

Chandler sealed the win in the sixth. Schnulo drove the inning's first pitch over the center field fence to extend his team's lead, and then a parade of five walks combined with run-scoring singles from Ponzo, Shane Anderson, and John Hansell opened the floodgates as Chandler extended its lead to 13-1.

Jason Vaught drove a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth for Gilbert American before Ponzo induced a fly ball to end the game.

Hansell and Ponzo each had two hits for Chandler National North, while Anderson and Schnulo each drove in a pair of runs.

Chandler National North had swept to seven consecutive victories in the District 13 tournament, then opened state tournament play with a 13-0 victory over Paradise Valley North Little League. The eventual champions then edged Litchfield Park Little League, 5-3, before toppling Tucson Western Little League 13-0 and then Gilbert American by a 12-1 score to reach the state championship game.

Gilbert American rebounded from the loss to dispatch Paradise Valley North, which had won four in a row in the bottom bracket, for the fourth time in the league's history.

Chandler National North dropped its first three games at the West Region tournament, including one-run losses to the tournament's top two seeds at the conclusion of pool competition, before defeating Dixie Little League (St. George, Utah) by a 7-6 score to finish in fifth place in the tournament.