SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Schuylkill Haven's Ethan Conage was knocked to the ground twice by teammate J.T. Hughes before becoming the bottom of a dog pile.
Schuylkill Haven manager Scott Swoyer was doused with a freezing cold bucket of ice water.
However, neither were complaining much.
It was all part of the championship celebration after Schuylkill Haven won its second Schuylkill County Teener League Senior Division championship in three years with a 4-3 victory over Branch Maroon on Saturday evening at Schuylkill Haven High School.
Conage pitched a compete game five-hitter, working his way out of a jam in the top of the seventh, while Schuylkill Haven (21-1) scratched out just enough runs to finish the playoff tournament unbeaten.
Schuylkill Haven won the championship in 2012 with a 5-4 victory over Frackville. Last year, Schuylkill Haven was eliminated from the tournament with a 9-1 loss to Pine Grove in the loser's bracket final.
Both Conage and catcher Noah Saul were members of the 2012 title team.
"It's an awesome feeling to come out here and win the championship," Conage said.
Saturday was the second victory, and second compete-game performance, of the playoffs for Conage, who threw a six-hitter during Schuylkill Haven's 6-2 win over DeAngelo's on Monday.
He struck out nine and walked three Saturday, throwing 112 pitches, with 67 going for strikes. Only one of the three runs Conage allowed were earned as Schuylkill Haven committed three errors in game. But the Haven defense also turned two potential game-saving plays.
With Branch Maroon's Austin Pritz on second with two outs in the sixth, Marcus Hamilton hit a grounder up the third-base line. Schuylkill Haven third baseman Riley White charged the ball and got off a quick throw to first, beating Hamilton by a step for the third out of the inning.
With courtesy runner Blake Kopinetz on first and one out in the seventh, Steele Fekette crushed a fly ball to the right-center-field gap. But Schuylkill Haven center fielder Tyler Browne sprinted back and to his right and made the running catch for the second out of the inning.
"The seven guys behind me, and the one in front of me, backed me up through the whole thing," Conage said. "I wasn't worried at any point in the game. I knew that they got my back and I got there's."
Browne's catch was especially critical as Branch Maroon (20-3), the tournament's top seed, tried to stage another comeback rally in its last at-bat.
After Fekette's out, pinch-hitter Nolan Hoffman doubled to right center, driving in Kopinetz to make it 4-3. But Conage got Dylan Stephen to ground out to Hughes at second on a 2-2 curveball to end the rally and the game.
"We were one out away again," Branch Maroon manger Jim Kramer said. "The kids just keep on playing. I couldn't be prouder of them."
Ryan Nettles, who had the game-winning, two-run single and was winning pitcher with two innings of relief in Branch Maroon's 6-5 victory over Frackville on Friday, started Saturday because it was his turn in the rotation. Nettles ended up allowing five hits over six innings, while two of the four runs he allowed were earned.
What did Nettles in, however, were four wild pitches, including two in a two-run first inning for Schuylkill Haven. Another in the seventh helped set up Schuylkill Haven's fourth run.
Schuylkill Haven once again used small ball to manufacture runs, including two sacrifice flies. Browne reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of first, and Bryce Moyer followed with a sacrifice fly that brought home White.
Up 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Conage reached on an error and went to second on a wild pitch. He then went to third on a sacrifice bunt by David Kane. Kobe Brish, a 13-year-old, knocked in Conage on a sacrifice fly to right to make it a 4-2 game.
"He (Kane) is a good bunter, he just hasn't had the opportunity a lot this year," Swoyer said. "As a team, we work at it."
Schuylkill Haven, which had five starters return from last year's team, got a late start to the season, which for them began June 6. Schuylkill Haven ended up playing its 18-game regular season in 23 days, with its only loss being a 6-5 setback to Branch Maroon on June 15.
"They were very unselfish," Swoyer said. "They were willing to sacrifice, sacrifice bunt and sacrifice for each other. With the late start we got they knew we had to play everyday and guys took the ball everyday, sometimes 3-4 innings, 3-4 days in a row and never complained.
"Young guys, when we filled in, they stepped up. The older guys accepted the younger guys. It was a very satisfying season as a coach to see the kids mix like that."