David Tompkins drove in five runs and pitcher Dalton Koebler allowed only one run over the final five innings as Butler Township Little League ralled for a 7-5 victory over Lehigh Little League in the Pennsylvania state championship game at East Plymouth Valley Park in Plymouth Meeting.

Tompkins laced a two-run single in the bottom of the first inning after Lehigh jumped to an early 4-0 lead. Two innings later, with Lehigh still holding a 4-3 lead, Tompkins followed Alex Ziegler's single and Koebler's double with a booming three-run home run to give his team the lead for good.

Lehigh halved the lead with a run in the fourth, but Butler Township added an insurance run following a Lehigh error in the fifth inning.

"I'm walking on air," said Butler Township manager John Baranchak after the championship game.

"This is what every kid who has ever picked up a bat dreams about," he added.

Butler Township clinched its first-ever state championship in the major baseball division with the victory, and advanced to the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament in Bristol, Connecticut. The league's only prior state championship came in the 9-10 year old baseball division in 2002.

Tompkins paced Butler Township's 11-hit attack with a homer and two singles. Ziegler singled three times, while Matt Baranchak added a pair of hits, including an RBI single in the first inning.

Koebler, who settled down after the rocky start to pitch his second complete game of the tournament, allowed seven hits in the win. He struck out six and walked three batters.

"Every day someone different steps up, said John Baranchak. "That's what makes this team unique."

Tompkins provided the heavy lumber in the championship game, while Spencer Murray and Chris Cotton led the attack when Butler Township opened the tournament with an 8-2 victory over State College National Little League. Murray set the tone immediately, homering on the first pitch of the game, and Cotton launched a three-run home run over the left center field fence as Butler Township broke the game open with a six run fifth inning rally.

Mike Connolly opened the decisive inning with a single, then Murray walked and Ziegler reached safely on a bunt single. Tompkins delivered a two-run single and Matt Baranchak added a run-scoring single before Cotton's blast capped the inning.

"They hit the ball hard," said State College National manager Ron Hicks. "They were aggressive right off the bat."

Koebler allowed only one earned run and struck out four batters against a State College team that had scored eleven runs the night before in a victory over Lower Gwynedd Little League.

Two days later, Butler Township slammed four home runs and reached the championship game with a 7-5 victory over Berwyn-Paoli Little League. Koebler and Tompkins both homered in the first inning, as Butler Township established a 3-0 lead. Koebler added a solo shot in the third inning, and Cotton hit one of his own later in the game. Nine of Butler Township's twelve players homered at least once during the international tournament.

Matt Baranchak earned the win, pitching his team to within one out of victory before departing with the tying run on base for Berwyn-Paoli. Ziegler relieved him, and induced a comebacker to end the game and move Butler Township into the championship game.

"I've been telling everyone that there is nothing in youth sports that comes close to this," said John Baranchak after the win. "This is something everyone dreams about -- there's nothing in football, basketball, or hockey that equates to this."

Though his team stood on the brink of the tournament championship, the Butler Township manager recognized there was work to do.

"No one is looking to Connecticut," said John Baranchak, referring to the site of the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament. "No one is looking past Lehigh."

Lehigh, which won the state tournament in 2002, zoomed into the championship game with three consecutive victories following a 4-0 loss to Greencastle Little League in the tournament's first game. The Bethlehem-based league rolled to double-digit victories over State College National and Lower Gwynedd before topping Berwyn-Paoli, 9-3, in the elimination bracket final.

Lehigh dropped to the tournament's bottom bracket after falling victim to Greencastle pitcher Tyler Szaflarski's 13-strikeout one-hitter. Denver Cordell homered twice and Drew DeShong added a solo shot to provide all of the scoring for Greencastle.