CALLERY — The celebration was subdued.

But the feeling of accomplishment from Cranberry player/manager Bill Clinefelter wasn't.

Cranberry capped off an improbable rally from a 2-0 deficit in the Eagle County League semifinal series against Mars II with a roller-coaster 10-8 win in the decisive Game 5 at Callery Field Friday evening.

“We play well as a team, but this week just solidified that,” Clinefelter said. “It was amazing how everything came together. It's good stuff. It hasn't sunk in yet.”

Game 5 was a brawl with both teams landing haymakers in the form of big rallies.

Cranberry struck first for three runs in the top of the first inning off an RBI double by Ben Murray and RBI singles by Dave Coradi and John Davis.

Mars II, though, scored two runs of its own in the bottom of the first inning to set the stage for the seesaw game.

Mars II shot ahead 6-4 in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a big RBI double by Evan Oswald and a two-run single by Eric King.

But Cranberry tied the game at 6-6 in the top of the fourth.

“It was an outstanding series,” Clinefelter said. “Any time it goes five games and any time you have a game like this where both teams battled, you know it is.”

Coradi struck the biggest blow of the game, smashing a solo home run to left field in the top of the fifth inning to put Cranberry up for good at 7-6.

The homer was Coradi's third of the series — all coming at Callery Field.

Cranberry tacked on three more runs in the top of the sixth for some breathing room and Michael Patsch relieved Cranberry starting pitcher Alex Hajduk to pick up the save after getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.

“Patsch bounced back on short rest and did a great job for us,” Clinefelter said. “He pitched Tuesday. He hung in and wanted the ball. We didn't know how much Patsch had left in the tank and we had a couple of other arms locked and loaded if we needed them. We didn't need them.”

Cranberry has been one of the hottest teams in the league down the stretch.

Clinefelter attributed that to the slew of weather-related make-up games his club had to play at the tail end of the regular season.

“I think the fact that the momentum we established at the end of the season playing a ton of make-up games and then rolling into the Zelienople series helped us,” Clinefelter said. “We played maybe 15 games in 20 days and it was repetition, repetition, repetition every day with no long layoff. We got into a groove.”

Mars II had thought it was in a groove, going up 2-0 on Cranberry in the series before the wheels came off in an 8-0 loss in Game 3.

A 5-4 loss followed in Game 4 and a pair of rallies weren't enough Mars II in Game 5.

“This is a tough one to swallow,” said King, the Mars II player/manager. “We battled today. We just couldn't come though. You have to give a ton of credit to Cranberry. They never lost confidence. They came at us hard every night and you have to give them credit for what they did. They were the better team.”

It was also a game of what-ifs for Mars II.

With the bases loaded and down by four in the bottom of the sixth inning, Tim Geibel hit a drive that drifted foul. If fair his blast would have tied the game.

“It was close,” King said. “We were right in it until the end.”

It was also a tough day for Mars II starting pitcher Josh Friel, who walked three batters in the three-run first inning for Cranberry and gave up seven runs — five earned — in four-plus innings of work.

Geibel relieved him in the fifth inning after the Coradi home run and kept the game at 7-6 before the three-run Cranberry rally in the sixth.

Cranberry will now face Mars, who swept Pine-Richland in its semifinal series, in a best-of-five championship series beginning Monday at Marburger Field.

Mars has won five straight Eagle County League titles. Cranberry has never won a championship.

“We've scored a lot of runs this year,” Clinefelter said. “If our pitching can keep us in it ... I know Mars is a powerhouse. It's going to be tough.”

Cranberry 310 213 0 — 10 10 3

Mars II 204 002 0 — 8 10 3

W: Alex Hajduk 5.1IP (6K, 4BB). L: Josh Friel 4+IP (2K, 5BB). SV: Michael Patsch 1.2IP (3K, 1BB)

Cranberry: Clayton Bouchard 1B, Ben Murray 2-2B RBI, Reed Tomlinson 2-1B 2-RBI, T.J. Kuny 1B RBI, Dave Coradi HR 1B 2-RBI, John Davis 1B RBI, Joel Shaffer 1B

Mars II: Darren Blakley 2-1B, John Crummy 2-1B, Tim Geibel 1B, Gabe S+tephenson 1B, Brian Laurito RBI, Ryan Oswald 2-2B 2-RBI, Eric King 2-1B 2-RBI

Monday: Cranberry vs. Mars, Game 1 of the Eagle County Championship series.