In the end, it came down to the final game. To the final inning. And inevitably, to the final batter.

Like a pair of heavyweight boxers, Council Rock Northampton Little League and State College American Little League spent the better part of the Pennsylvania state championship series trading punches. The teams exchanged victories in the series' first two games, with State College winning the opener and Northampton evening the score the next day. They then took turns grabbing the momentum in the deciding game, with Northampton jumping to an early lead, and State College rallying for a pair of runs to tie the game after being down to its last strike in the top of the sixth inning.

But Council Rock Northampton still had one more chance in the bottom of the inning, and the Eastern Pennsylvania champions made the most of their opportunity.

Vince Fitzpatrick lined a single off the right field fence with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to score Bret DeStefano with the winning run as Council Rock Northampton edged State College American, 6-5, in the deciding game of the Pennsylvania state championship series at Solanco Little League's field in Quarryville.

The win gave Council Rock Northampton a two games to one victory in the best-of-three championship series, and advanced the new Pennsylvania champions into the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament in Bristol, Connecticut.

Northampton erased an early 1-0 deficit with a four run rally in the bottom of the first inning of the series' final game, and carried a 5-1 advantage into the fifth. State College narrowed the deficit with a pair of runs, which set the stage for an extraordinary finish.

In the top of the sixth, Northampton retired two of the first three State College American hitters, but Saige Jenco, who had homered earlier in the game, kept his team's hopes alive by working the count full and then delivering an RBI single. Two batters later, Dan Fry's RBI single scored Jenco with the tying run.

In the bottom of the inning, Council Rock Northampton's first two batters were retired, then DeStefano reached on an error. State College elected to intentionally walk Jeff Miller, whose two home runs had helped Northampton to win the previous day's game. With runners at first and second, Fitzpatrick then lined his game-winning hit to easily score DeStefano with the game-winning run.

"That last inning was typical for them, because it was a high pressure situation," said Council Rock Northampton manager Al DeLuca of his team. "They fought to the very last out and sucked it up. They deserve to be champions."

Council Rock Northampton had to fight its way to the title after dropping the series' opening game, 8-5. Darian Herncane's grand slam home run keyed a six-run third inning rally for State College, which had spotted Northampton an early 2-1 lead.

Northampton managed just two hits in the game, but failed to capitalize when eleven walks and three hit batsmen presented it with numerous opportunities.

"This was not Northampton baseball," said DeLuca. "We left 13 runners on base tonight. We haven't done that the whole season."

"You can't win a game like that," he added. "Especially against this team. This was a very good team."

State College also got a solo home run from Dan Fry in the first, and an insurance blast from Herncane in the fifth, but his third inning blow shifted the momentum to State College for good after the teams had traded leads early in the game.

"He hit a first pitch curveball," noted DeLuca of Herncane's grand slam. "Not too many players can do that."

State College reliever Scout Droske, the team's third pitcher of the game, escaped a jam after entering in the fifth inning and then closed out the victory.

"I fell pretty fortunate we were able to get that win," said State College American manager Bill Bown. "We bled, but we didn't completely lose our composure. This Northampton team is very strong and we've got a battle ahead."

Northampton signaled that it was ready for the battle as it warmed up for the next game.

"We could tell when the kids were taking infield practice this morning they were not going to lose today," said DeLuca after his team posted an 8-2 victory to even the series.

"When your backs are against the wall, you're always going to be more fired up," said the Northampton manager. "They really came through."

Miller led the charge both at the plate and on the mound. The right-hander extended an early Council Rock Northampton lead with an RBI single in the third, then added his two home runs. His long solo home run in the fifth inning cleared the batting cages beyond the center field fence, and his three-run homer in the final inning all but sealed the victory.

On the mound, Miller struck out eight batters over five innings, while holding State College American to just three hits.

"I've seen this kid play all year, and he's had many games like this, said DeLuca of Miller's performance. "In big games, good players step up."

"(Miller was) the toughest pitcher we faced all summer," said Bown. "He threw hard and mixed up his locations real well. Our kids had trouble catching up to him."

Council Rock Northampton hitters drew eight walks in the game, but unlike in the opener, the District 30 champions left only two runners in scoring position.

The win set the stage for an exciting finish between two teams that had a healthy respect for one another.

"We start with 400 teams and finish second in the state to a team like Northampton," observed Bown after the tournament. "They can be proud of that. They gave me everything they had."

Everything, in this case, was enough to stand toe-to-toe with Northampton until the very end of the championship series. Having emerged from a district that has produced three of the last four Pennsylvania champions, Northampton is not unfamiliar with high-level competition, and the team recognized the accomplishment in pushing past State College American.

"(State College is) the best baseball team we faced all year by far," said DeLuca. "Outstanding athletes, very intense, very well-coached. It's hard to beat a team like that."

Like the other recent state champions from District 30, Deep Run Valley Little League in 2004 and Council Rock Newtown Little League in 2005, Council Rock Northampton fared well at the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament. The Pennsylvania champions won three of their four pool games, then rallied past Randolph East Little League (New Jersey), 6-4 in seven innings, to reach the region championship game. Northampton's title game battle with West Salisbury (Maryland) Little League was scoreless into the sixth inning, before the Marylanders emerged with a 4-0 victory.