With one swing of the bat, Freeport's three-run lead could have turned into a one-run deficit.

Considering who was at the plate, it seemed like a definite possibility.

Trailing Freeport 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning of the fifth and decisive game of the Eagle County League semifinals Tuesday at Pullman Park, Saxonburg loaded the bases when Dustin Lalle reached on a fielding error with two outs.

Brendan Malone — one of, if not the most feared hitter in the league — walked to the plate having already doubled and tripled.

Facing him was Freeport right-handed reliever Jon Moore, who battled the slugger and forced a groundout to second base to end the threat.

"I got him on an outside fastball," said Moore. "He tried to pull it."

Freeport went on to a 6-2 victory, clinching the team's first trip to the league championship series since 2004.

"He's one of those guys you don't want to see coming to the plate with the bases loaded," said Freeport player-coach Wayne Greiser of Malone. "But we had faith in Jon."

"It wasn't just one at-bat," said Saxonburg player-coach Steve Hall. "Baseball is a team game. That was the problem: We couldn't string hits together tonight. Freeport is a good team and they deserve to move on."

Greiser visited Moore earlier in the sixth, after the latter had walked Brad Cottage to open the frame, threw two wild pitches to allow pinch runner Brandon Wissinger to advance to third and allowed an RBI single to Curt Schnur.

"At the time, I knew I was throwing a lot of balls. But I just wanted to get to the next batter," said Moore. "But it was good that (Greiser) came out. It calmed me down."

With runners on first and second, Moore fanned Adam Brydon and got Sandy Sanderson to hit into a fielder's choice, setting up Malone's at-bat.

Moore then pitched a scoreless seventh to seal the win.

Freeport never trailed, scoring three first-inning runs off Schnur.

Aaron Brown and James Connelly each had RBI singles in the opening inning and Dan Penberthy added a run-scoring double.

"We talked about (Schnur) being aggressive and throwing strikes," said Greiser. "We put the bat on the ball."

Saxonburg answered with a run in the bottom of the first inning when Malone tripled and scored on Adam Hartwig's one-out single.

But Freeport starter Jon Bastian quieted Saxonburg's bats over the next four innings, holding the team scoreless on three hits.

Bastian earned the win while striking out four and walking none.

Schnur pitched a complete game in the loss, striking out nine and walking two batters.

Penberthy added a solo home run in the fifth inning that extended Freeport's lead to 5-1.

Freeport, which had never defeated Saxonburg before in a playoff series, will face the winner of the Mars I-Mars II series, which is currently tied at one game apiece.

Freeport 301 010 1 — 6 10 1Saxonburg 100 001 0 — 2 7 2W: Jon Bastian (5 IP) 4 K, 0 BB.

L: Curt Schnur (7 IP) 9 K, 2 BB.

Freeport (25-11-1): Carter Haponski 3B R, Cy Haponski 1B 2B R RBI, Aaron Brown 1B 2R RBI, Dan Penberthy 1B 2B HR 2R 2 RBI, James Connelly 2-1B 2 RBI, Mike Totos 1B

Saxonburg (24-10-1): Brendan Malone 2B 3B R, Adam Hartwig 1B RBI, Brad Cottage 1B, Curt Schnur 1B RBI, Adam Brydon 2B, Dustin Lalle 1B, Brandon Wissinger R