The pieces were falling into place.

Now, all Souderton baseball coach Mike Childs had to do was put them together.

Souderton, the District 1 champion, will face Seneca Valley in the PIAA Class AAAA championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Blair County Ballpark in Altoona.

But the Big Red had to blaze quite a trail to get there.

The squad lost the District 1 title game last year to Coatesville, but quickly turned that disappointment into the start of a season to remember.

"The kids won the Connie Mack Championship in July," said Childs. "Then, back in October at a parents meeting, I said we have the ability to get (to the finals). We began training in December. I knew we had the talent to get there and there were a lot of good teams in our district, too."

So Souderton set out with a three-goal plan: to repeat as league champion, to win the district and to win the PIAA title. The district title and state playoff wins were the first in the program's history.

"It's worked so far," said Childs. "Now, we'll go for that last one."

Leading the way for the Big Red (22-3) is senior pitcher Kyle Greenwalt, a University of South Carolina recruit who was drafted in the 20th round by the Houston Astros last week.

In two PIAA playoff games, Greenwalt is 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA. For the year, he's 11-2 with an ERA just below 2.00. Greenwalt will be pitching in Saturday's championship final against the Raiders' Cory Mazzoni, the WPIAL Quad A Pitcher of the Year.

"Kyle's the No. 1 pitcher and the others battled to pitch behind him, and (Brian) Conrad's done that (4-0, 1.80 ERA, 36 strikeouts during the regular season). Our pitching's definitely been strong," Childs said.

The probable lineup for the Big Red will be center fielder Eric Brony, second baseman Marcus Stull, shortstop Eric Hink, designated hitter Conrad, right fielder Mike Ramano, third baseman Buehler, catcher Ryan Brown, first baseman Landon Shoemaker and left fielder Mike Heisey.

After Souderton defeated Pennridge 6-4 in the District 1 championship game, the Big Red then beat Exeter 5-1, West Chester East 1-0 and Cumberland Valley 3-2 in their three PIAA playoff games to reach the finals

"Our guys, 1 through 9, can hit," said Childs. "Our last two games, we were not our normal selves. On Monday (against Cumberland Valley), we didn't hit, but we faced a junkballer and it took us the whole game to get adjusted. Some of our better hitters haven't been hitting well, but we've gotten a couple of key hits from our No. 9 hitter."

The Raiders' hitting has been strong throughout the PIAA playoffs, as SV beat Cathedral Prep 13-3 in five innings, Peters Township 5-2 and State College 8-3. The Raiders pounded out 15 hits in the first and third game and six against Peters Township.

The Raiders lost to Plum 1-0 to open the season before winning 17 in a row — including an unbeaten run in the section — but lost a heartbreaking 12-4, eighth-inning decision to Bethel Park in the WPIAL semifinals.

The Raiders needed a consolation final win (6-5) against Plum, the top-seeded team, to grab the third and final state playoff berth out of the WPIAL.

"That Plum game was the key," said Seneca Valley coach Eric Semega. "Although the (Bethel Park) loss was a big letdown, the kids put the effort in and had some really good practices. We won against Plum and that got the kids going again."

The Raiders will start Mazzoni (10-0, 1.23 ERA, 86 K), who led SV to the win over the Indians with his arm and his bat.

In fact, the Raiders are similar to the Big Red in steady hitting. The regular starting lineup boasts .300-plus hitters from top to bottom.

The lineup for the Raiders will most likely be (averages do not include State College game): shortstop Ken Walrond (.328), center fielder Jim Burry (.370), right fielder Gabe Grinder (.474), Mazzoni (.371), designated hitter Andrew Fornadel (.385), third baseman Tyler Bream (.393), first baseman Dan Jergel (.444, in limited action), left fielder Phil Double (.220, but two hits in two at-bats against the Lions) and second baseman Shaine Patsilevas (.324).

Ryan Turner and Matt Johnson have shared catching duties in the PIAA playoffs, while pitcher Kyle Helisek (8-0, 2.10, 55 K; 2-0 in the state playoffs) could also be used if needed.

"I think this is the most productive lineup, 1 through 9, since I've been here," said Semega. "We've had some bigger hitters, but almost everyone in this lineup is hitting .300, and that's impressive."

Mazzoni and Helisek have definitely kept the Raiders in every game. Both believe if they can allow about three runs or fewer, the team has a very good chance of winning.

"Of all the games we've played this year, we have not given up a lot of runs," said Semega. "With these two guys, I don't think anything will change that."

The Raiders will be making their first appearance in the state title game since 1995, when they won under coach Dave Florie and Semega was an assistant.