BUTLER TWP — Trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning and staring another playoff disappointment in the eye, Cranberry Township needed something big to happen.

It did.

The club scored six runs to turn what looked like a semifinal flameout into its first trip to the Eagle County League championship series with an 8-5 win over Saxonburg in Game 5 of the best-of-five series at Butler County Community College Thursday night.

"It feels great," said designated hitter Bill Stehle, who drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning.

Cranberry squandered a 2-0 lead in the semifinal series in 2005 against Natrona Heights, losing the next three and the series.

Cranberry followed that disappointment with semifinal defeats in 2006 and 2007 before being bounced in the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons.

To avoid another sour ending, the club needed a six-run outburst and a gutsy performance from pitcher Todd Erdos to punch its ticket to the finals, which start Saturday against Mars.

Hugh Mulvey and player-manager Bill Clinefelter led off the seventh inning with singles. Saxonburg manager Dan Cunningham elected to load the bases with an intentional walk to Ben Follett to get to Stehle.

"We were hoping for a double play," Cunningham said. "That was our best bet at that point."

Jim Burry followed with a two-run double before Johnny Hastings hit a towering two-run home run to give Cranberry some much-needed insurance runs.

Up to that point, Cranberry had stranded nine runners.

"That was the theme of the series," Clinefelter said. "We were hoping we would have one inning left to break out and it happened."

The rally spoiled a fine performance by Saxonburg pitchers Brandon Wissinger and Jesse Whitman, who wiggled out of jams with little or no damage for six innings.

That magic ran out in the seventh.

Saxonburg grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Evan Oswald and a run-scoring single by Adam Hartwig.

Cranberry responded with two runs in the top of the fourth inning, chasing Wissinger, but Saxonburg scored a run in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double by Adam Brydon.

Erdos entered the final inning with a five-run lead and little gas in the tank.

But Erdos, who pitched in the major leagues with the Padres, Yankees and Red Sox from 1997 to 2001, gutted it out.

Saxonburg got to him for two quick runs in the final frame and had the tying run at the plate with one out, but Erdos induced a double-play grounder off the bat of Dan Pickard to end the game.

Cranberry's first taste of the championship series will come against the top team in the league, Mars, which made quick work of its semifinal foe and is well-rested.

No matter. This isn't the first time Cranberry has been overlooked, Clinefelter said.

"They're pretty loaded and fresh — they're been sitting around for awhile," Clinefelter said. "But if we hit, anything can happen."

Cranberry Twp 000 200 6 — 8 11 1Saxonburg 002 100 2 — 5 10 4W: Todd Erdos 7 IP (2K, 1BB).

L: Jesse Whitman 3Z\c IP (1K, 2BB).

Cranberry Twp: Jim Burry 2B 2-RBI, Johnny Hastings HR 1B 4-RBI, Greg Miller 2B, Hugh Mulvey 2-1B, Ben Follett 2B, Bill Stehle 2-1B 2-RBI

Saxonburg: Evan Oswald 2B 2-1B RBI, Adam Hartwig 1B 2-RBI, Steve Hall 2-1B RBI, Jesse Whitman 2-1B, Adam Brydon 2B RBI

Saturday: Cranberry vs. Mars, Game 1 of best-of-5 championship series, TBD