For Matt Chrysostome and his West Salisbury Little League all-star team, it was a perfect opportunity to rewrite the ending.

Twice earlier in the week, Brunswick Little League's Tyler Ebberts led off the game with a home run in what became a mercy rule victory for his team as it worked its way through the tournament. And, in the championship game meeting between West Salisbury and Brunswick, Ebberts again struck early, clearing the fences to open the bottom of the first inning as Brunswick jumped to a 1-0 lead.

Chrysostome also had some revisions in mind. One year earlier, the West Salisbury right-hander surrendered a two-run home run to a Brunswick Railroader Little League player in a 2-1 loss that eliminated West Salisbury from the state 10-11 year old all-star tournament. Now, with the players a year older and the state championship on the line, Chrysostome entered in relief in the third inning. West Salisbury had curtailed Brunswick's offense after the early home run and had taken a 2-1 advantage, but it was up to Chrysostome to protect that lead and secure victory for the Eastern Shore team.

Chrysostome proceeded to throw four hitless innings and shut down a potent Brunswick offense as West Salisbury ran out to a 4-1 victory in the Maryland state championship game at Brunswick's field. Most of West Salisbury's players had finished third in the state tournament at the 9-10 and 10-11 year old age levels, but as twelve year olds, they were now headed for the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament in Bristol, Connecticut.

"We came into the tournament with high expectations," said West Salisbury manager Frank DelGaudio. "We had overall talent."

West Salisbury, which had won its first three contests to reach the championship round, needed to stymie a high-flying Brunswick offense to close out the tournament. After dropping its opening round game, a 16-0 blowout win by Clear Spring Little League, Brunswick won three consecutive elimination matchups by a combined 37-10 margin. But Grant Winterbottom, the West Salisbury starter, and Chrysostome combined to keep the District 2 champions off the scoreboard after the first inning home run. Meanwhile, West Salisbury's offense warmed up, as Chrysostome followed Malike Johnson's leadoff double in the second inning with a two-run homer to right center field, before Cade Hurley and Winterbottom drove in runs during a two-run rally in the fifth.

After the fifth inning rally extended West Salisbury's lead to 4-1, Chrysostome registered a pair of 1-2-3 innings to give the victors their third state championship in the major baseball division in the league's history, and the second in six years.

"I wasn't worried about the home run and falling behind 1-0," said DelGaudio after the game. "We did that when we beat Clear Spring (earlier in the tournament), and we had six full innings to play."

"We didn't quit," said Brunswick manager Mark Tarleton of his team's resilience after its opening round disaster. "We hung in there, we kept going, but we were up against a very good West Salisbury team.

"Chrysostome was throwing gas out there," added the Brunswick manager. "He had good control of his pitches."

West Salisbury opened the tournament with a 7-4 victory over Hughesville Little League. Winning pitcher Cade Hurley struck out eight batters, and kept the game scoreless until the fourth, when Hughesville scored three times after a string of West Salisbury errors. In the bottom of the inning, Tim Kerrigan singled, and Tyler Shockley drove a two-run homer beyond the center field fence to bring West Salisbury back to within one run, and Johnson delivered a two-run double later in the inning to put the Eastern Shore team in front. Hurley added a two-run homer as part of a three-run fifth to advance West Salisbury into a meeting with South Maryland Little League.

West Salisbury used a trio of home runs to power past South Maryland, 10-3. Chrysostome belted a three-run homer as part of a four run first inning rally, then Hurley added a two-run blast in the second and Johnson added a solo shot in the third.

Two days later, West Salisbury edged Clear Spring, 3-1, in the winner's bracket final. Clear Spring struck on the game's first pitch, which Jarey Lozich deposited over the left center field fence for a quick 1-0 advantage, but Johnson, Chrysostome, and Winterbottom combined to keep the District 1 champions off the scoreboard for the balance of the game.

West Salisbury tied the game in the bottom of the first, when Winterbottom lined a single to center field that plated Hurley, and moved in front in the third. Hurley hit that inning's first pitch beyond the left field fence, and two batters later, Chrysostome lined a pitch into the trees beyond the left center field fence.

West Salisbury carried its 3-1 advantage into the sixth, and needed clutch pitching from Winterbottom to secure the win. Clear Springs' first two hitters in the inning reached base, and, after Winterbottom moved to the mound, Josh Colliflower singled to load the bases. But Winterbottom then registered three consecutive strikeouts to escape the jam and lift his team into the championship game.

"To come in and strike out three with no outs and the bases loaded, it's just unbelievable," said DelGaudio "(Winterbottom has) been a gamer all year for us, and he's an important piece of our puzzle."

"You're looking at a great opportunity with the bases loaded and none out," said Clear Spring manager Pete Lazich.

"Four hits won't win many games," added the Clear Spring manager, referencing his team's offensive output in the loss. "(West Salisbury) was two homer runs better than us tonight. That was it."

The loss dropped Clear Spring into a rematch with Brunswick. Clear Spring had won Maryland's championship in the 9-10 year old division in 2010, and Brunswick had captured the title in the 10-11 year old age bracket in 2011. When the two teams met earlier in the tournament, Clear Spring managed just six hits, but capitalized on nine walks and four hit batsmen in a 16-0 victory. Brunswick rebounded, though, routing Rising Sun Little League, 16-0 in four innings, and ousting Easton Little League, 12-5, to earn a rematch.

When the teams met a second time, Brunswick avenged their earlier loss, jumping to a big lead with a six run rally in the second inning and claiming a 10-5 victory. Clear Spring stranded twelve baserunners in the game, as Ebberts struck out ten and did not allow an earned run in 4-2/3 innings on the mound. Brunswick batted around in its big second inning, with Aaron Fitzwater driving in a run with a bases loaded walk and Dominic Naylor capping the inning with a two-run single. Naylor later added a solo home run in the fourth before Ebberts did the same in the fifth.

The win extended Brunswick's season for one more game, but the momentum from their string of victories was stopped by the strong pitching of Winterbottom and Chrysostome in the championship game as West Salisbury closed out the tournament.

"We realize how big this is (going to Bristol)," said DelGaudio after the tournament. "And we're just really blessed to be in the position we are in. This is really incredible, and we are just absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity."

West Salisbury split its four pool competition games at the region tournament, but fell, 6-0, to Newark National (Delaware) Little League in the semifinal round.