The start was lethargic. The finish was ecstatic.

Seneca Valley broke open a close game by scoring four times in the fifth inning Wednesday and went on to defeat Butler, 10-3, at Pullman Park.

The victory gave the Raiders the Section 5-AAA baseball championship, the program's first outright section title in its 20-year history.

"I'm as proud as I can be of each and every one of these guys," Seneca Valley coach Eric Semega said. "They worked hard for this from day one."

The Raiders' section title ended North Allegheny's streak of 12 consecutive section crowns.

"That's pretty incredible, being that consistent year in and year out," Semega said. "They've had it for so long, maybe they won't mind us taking it for a year."

The Raiders took a 5-3 lead into the fifth inning after turning a 6-4-3 double play to close down the Butler fourth.

Seneca's Chris Tremblay scored on a wild pitch with two outs in the fifth, Dan Reale followed with a two-run single to center and John Sklarsky chased Reale home with a double to center.

Seneca Valley had 12 hits in the game and each of its first eight batters in the lineup hitting safely.

"They didn't outhit us by all that much and both teams played well defensively," Butler coach Ron Zawrotuk said. "The difference was they got the timely hits with guys on base."

After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, Butler battled back in its half of the frame when Adam Miller singled and scored on Todd Walker's two-out double to right.

Walker was cut down trying to stretch his double into a triple on a perfect relay throw to third baseman Ben Follett.

"We got off to a lethargic start, not because we weren't ready to play but because Butler came out hitting right away," Semega said. "That out at third was a big play in this game.

"The double play we turned in the fourth, the two-out wild pitch in the fifth - those were plays that turned around what was a close game."

Seneca's Ryan Page pitched a complete game for the win, striking out eight and throwing 113 pitches. Tony Rossmiller pitched into the fifth and took the loss for Butler.

"We hung in there for a while, but they threw their No. 1 pitcher," Zawrotuk said. "He took the ball and that was it."

Kevan Smith hit a two-run homer to highlight a three-run Raider third inning. Tremblay had three singles, two RBI and two runs scored to key the Seneca Valley attack.

Andrew Wilmoth scored a pair of runs for the Raiders and became the first Seneca Valley baseball player to complete a regular season without striking out.

Wilmoth walked eight times this year and batted .427 in nearly 60 plate appearances.

"I was aware of the streak after eight games or so, but never thought much about it after that," Wilmoth said. "I get mad if I strike out because I didn't make the defense work to get me out."

Walker homered for Butler and drove in two of the Tornado's three runs. Butler finished its section season at 1-11.

Walker and Josh Edwards both hit above .400 this year for Butler, which honored its seniors before its final home game.

Seneca Valley 203 041 0 -10 12 1

Butler 101 100 0 - 3 8 1

WP:

Ryan Page (7 IP) 8 strikeouts, 1 walk.

LP:

Tony Rossmiller (4

IP) 7 strikeouts, 2 walks

Seneca Valley (17-3, 10-2):

Andrew Wilmoth 1B 2-R, Nick Hull 1B, Chris Tremblay 3-1B 2-RBI 2-R, Ben Follett 1B RBI, Kevan Smith 1B HR 2-RBI, Tyler Neff 1B RBI, Dan Reale 1B 2-RBI, John Sklarsky 2B 1B RBI

Butler (3-15, 1-11):

Adam Miller 1B, Joe Rekich 1B, Josh Edwards RBI, Todd Walker 2B HR 2-RBI, Matt Schnur 1B, Bruce Cornibe 1B, Pat Hohn 1B, Matt McCune 2B

Today:

Butler @ Blackhawk