PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. — They rode on police scooters and took a celebratory swim in the hotel pool.

All the while, the smiles on their faces beamed brighter than the mid-day sun in Plymouth Meeting.

The rides members of the Butler Township 11- and 12-year-old Little League baseball team took on the scooters, the swim they enjoyed in the pool and the omnipresent smiles on their faces came in reaction to a 7-5 come-from-behind win over Lehigh Valley in the state championship game Tuesday.

Butler Township will now go to Bristol, Conn., and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Friday as Pennsylvania's representative in the Little League World Series.

"I'm walking on air," said Butler Township manager John Baranchak.

Butler Township fell behind Lehigh Valley 4-0 before it even came to the plate.

When it did, it scored three runs of its own wrest the momentum away from its opponents.

In the bottom of the third inning, David Tompkins hit a three-run home run to give Butler Township a lead it never lost.

Tompkins also had a two-run single in the first inning and finished with five RBI.

It was enough run support for Dalton Koebler, who pitched six strong innings, settling down after a rocky first inning to get the win.

"This is what every kid who has ever picked up a bat dreams about," Baranchak said. "We're in the Little League World Series."

The Butler Township players captured the imagination of the residents of Plymouth Meeting, a town 17 miles north of Philadelphia.

"The community adopted us," Baranchak said. "They bent over backwards for us."

It was in part because Butler Township traveled much farther to play than any other team in the state tournament. The residents also took a liking to Butler Township because of the playful exuberance members of the team displayed.

Some of the players buddied up with the local police, marveling at their unique scooters. The policemen made a deal with the members of the team that if they won the tournament, they each would get a ride on the scooters.

After the victory, the police lived up to their word and escorted the team around town.

"They were going nuts," Baranchak said.

When they returned to the hotel, they all dived into the pool.

But there is much more to be accomplished.

Butler Township must report to Connecticut Friday at 2 p.m. but won't play its first game in the regional until Sunday at 8 p.m. against New Jersey.

Butler Township, which is 12-1 so far, will then play Delaware at 11 a.m. Monday, Maryland at 2 p.m. Tuesday and Washington D.C. at 11 a.m. Thursday in pool play.

If it finishes in the top four of the six teams, based on record and run differential, it will move on to the semifinals Aug. 11.

The finals will be playedAug. 13 and will be televised on ESPN.

"This is quite an accomplishment," Baranchak said. "More than 600 teams in the state started, and we're the best out of all of them."

Koebler also had a double, Matt Baranchak singled twice and Thomas Bruce and Dante Dorcy each had hits for Butler Township.

Koebler was the hitting hero Sunday and Matt Baranchak came through the game before that.

"Every day someone different steps up," John Baranchak said. "That's what makes this team unique.

"This is a very special group of boys on and off the field. They are great boys and come from great families. We are like an extended family here. We are so close."

The team will drive the five-plus hours back to Butler today and then leave at 5 a.m. Friday morning for Connecticut.

But for now, John Baranchak is going to let his players revel in their accomplishment.

"I'm not going to put a damper on this," he said. "I'm going to let them enjoy this because this will be something none of them will ever forget for the rest of their lives. I know I won't."