Lower Perkiomen Little League struggled offensively in the early stages of the Pennsylvania state tournament at Montresor Field in State College, losing their first game 7-2 and trailing late in their second outing by a 2-1 margin.

Then the rain came. And the reign began.

Given a new lease on life when a storm helped to hand them a forfeit win in their second game, Lower Perkiomen exploded for 42 runs in its next four games, and advanced through the elimination bracked to win the Pennsylvania state championship. Lower Perkiomen routed Ingomar National 10-0 and ousted Keystone 10-6 before sweeping Hermitage 9-0 and 13-8 in the championship series.

"That was a good team," said Hermitage manager Rick Gurerra after Lower Perkiomen battered his team twice. "Lower Perk hit the ball. They hit our best pitchers, and they did a very good job. They definitely deserve to be going where they're going."

That would be Bristol, Connecticut, the home of the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament. But early in the state tournament, Lower Perkiomen appeared headed for a different home -- their own. The District 27 champions slumbered through the early portion of the tournament, but their fortunes turned when game officials halted their second tournament contest with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. Defending champion and pre-tournament favorite Lehigh Little League had inserted its final substitutes at the start of the inning, but because the game was called due to rain and lightning before the third out was recorded, the new substitutes did not meet their mandatory play requirements. Lower Perkiomen protested, and was awarded the forfeit victory.

"One thing I've got to say about Lower Perk is that manager Mike Ricci wanted to play the game . . . tomorrow morning," said an otherwise disappointed Lehigh manager Bob Stauffer. "He didn't want to win that way. He's a stand-up manager."

"I felt confident we would win the game on our own," said Ricci.

Lower Perkiomen had two runners on base and two of its best hitters due up when the game was halted.

Lower Perkiomen demonstrated that it needed no help in its ensuing games. Christian Walker, Nick Sun, and Dennis Custer all had two hits as the Collegeville-based league avenged their opening round defeat with a mercy rule-shortened 10-0 win over Ingomar National. The next day, Lower Perkiomen continued the offensive fireworks, pounding seven hits and scoring eight runs in the bottom of the first inning to reach the title game by eliminating Keystone 10-6. Walker had three hits, while Tim Cooney and Tim Wisely added a pair of hits each.

“Giving up eight runs in the bottom of the first took a lot out of us,” said Keystone manager Ed Dolan. It was the third consecutive disastrous inning for the District 12 champions: the previous night, Keystone held a 5-2 lead with four outs to go in the winner's bracket finals against Hermitage, but back-to-back home runs by catcher Lukas Gurrera and shortstop Jaymee Shepherd tied the game, and Hermitage went on to post consecutive six-run rallies in a 14-5 win.

Lower Perkiomen needed a pair of wins over Hermitage to complete their climb through the loser's bracket. Cooney made sure they got the first one, throwing a one-hitter and homering twice as Lower Perkiomen blanked the District 2 winners 9-0.

"He won the game for us based on pitch selection," said Ricci of Cooney's performance. "He controlled the game from the first inning to the last."

Cooney also set the tone early with a solo home run in the first inning. In the third, his second homer opened the scoring in an eight-run rally. Todd Rubendall added a two-run homer and Ryan Deitrich added an RBI double as Lower Perkiomen forced the tournament to a final game.

The next evening, Lower Perkiomen continued its torrid hitting, outslugging Shepherd and Hermitage by a 13-8 margin. Walker led the way for the winners, homering in his first two plate appearances. Eight different Lower Perkiomen players contributed base hits.

The team effort was enough to overcome the heroics of Shepherd. The Hermitage shortstop launched long home runs in his first three plate appearances and added a single in the sixth to cap a 4-for-4, seven-RBI performance.

"My credit to Shephard, he's just a fantastic hitter," said Ricci, who marveled at Shephard's full count grand slam in the fourth inning.

"(Pitcher Nick Sun) was trying to hit the corners and Shephard was just all over anything he threw at him."

While Shephard feasted at the plate, Sun was able to keep the rest of the Hermitage offense in check despite issuing five walks. That gave Lower Perkiomen's offense time to go to work.

"Our bats during this tournament have just been on fire," said Ricci. "Everybody contributed to this win."

"We ate our way through the loser's bracket, and as you can tell by the scores of some of our games, we were the best team to represent Pennsylvania in Bristol," he added. "That's the way I feel about it and I think anyone would agree at this point."

Lower Perkiomen continued its offensive renaissance at the Mid-Atlantic region tournament in Bristol, scoring 43 runs while winning all four of its pool games. Lower Perkiomen defeated West Salisbury (Maryland) Little League 3-1 in the semifinal round, but fell to Naamans Little League (Wilmington, Delaware) in the region championship game.