Tomball Little League rallied, then rallied again.

Their third rally put them over the top.

Dylan Bass' two out, two strike single in the bottom of the sixth inning drove in the winning run and lifted Tomball past Lamar National Little League, 9-8, in the Texas East state championship game at Faulkner Field in Tyler.

With the win, Tomball advanced beyond state tournament competition in the major baseball division for the first time in the league's history, and advanced to the Southwestern Region tournament in Waco.

Tomball moved into the championship series by winning its first two games at the state tournament, but Lamar National pushed the District 28 winners to the edge of elimination, first extending the tournament with a 7-1 victory, then opening up a big lead early in the deciding game. Pitcher Shane McCarley and Braxton Wilks each hit two-run home runs in the top of the first inning, and Connor Parker added a solo shot later in the inning to give Lamar an quick five-run cushion.

Tomball whittled the deficit to a single run with a pair of early rallies, but had to rally again after Lamar extended the lead with a three-run third inning push. Mac Scherer's pinch hit, two-run double in the fourth sparked a four-run Tomball rally that tied the game. Dillon Menville and Joshua Stults each drove in runs during the rally.

Tomball reliever Nick Zarosky moved to the mound in the fourth inning, and held Lamar National's offense scoreless for the remainder of the game to earn the victory.

The previous night, Lamar National had staved off elimination with a 7-1 victory over Tomball that left both teams with one loss in the double-elimination tournament. Lamar pitcher Manny Lopez surrendered just four hits over 5-2/3 innings, and his teammates capitalized on three Tomball errors during a fourth inning rally that broke the game open.

"He's an amazing pitcher," said Lamar National manager Pat Combs of Lopez, who earned his second victory of the tournament. "He's not an overpowering guy. His fastball tops out at 60 (miles per hour), if not just a little bit more. (But) he's a guy who has great command of his pitches. When we call a pitch, he'll be right around where you call it."

Lopez also helped to spark the four-run fourth inning rally that put Lamar National in command. James Cunningham reached on a fielding error to open the inning, and one out later, Lopez singled to center field. After a passed ball moved both baserunners into scoring position, Cunningham scored on a wild pitch, and special pinch runner David Mangel crossed the plate when another pitch went to the backstop.

Later in the inning, Lucas Duval reached on an error, and Braxton Wilks followed with a two-run home run over the center field fence.

Tomball narrowed the deficit in the bottom of the inning, when singles by Nick Falcone, Bass, and Scherer plated one run and left the bases loaded with one out. But Lopez struck out a pair of hitters to end the inning, then retired the next five hitters he faced before reaching his pitch count limit and switching positions.

Cunningham scored on a wild pitch in the fifth inning, then Lamar added a pair of runs in the sixth before closing out the victory. The win evened the two teams' head-to-head records at one win apiece, as Tomball had defeated Lamar National, 11-7, earlier in the tournament.

Falcone, who had three hits in the teams' first meeting, reversed an early 3-1 Lamar National lead with a three-run homer in the second inning that put Tomball in front for good. The eventual champions added four more in the third inning, then Stults capped the win with a three-run homer in the fifth inning.

The win was Tomball's sixth in a row following an 11-8 loss to Beaumont's West End Little League in the opening round of the Section 2 tournament.

Four of Tomball's wins came in the sectional, including a victory over defending state champion Groves National Little League and a sweep of West End in the championship series. Tomball then opened state tournament play with a 9-3 win over Bryan Harvey Little League.

Falcone gave Tomball an early lead with a two-run homer in the first, then later added a three-run shot as part of a six-run fourth inning rally that broke a 3-3 tie and propelled Tomball to the win.

Menville and Shane Helfrich combined to scatter eight hits, and held Bryan Harvey scoreless in the game's final three innings. Zach Slaydon and Matt Fuller both had two hits for Tomball in the win.