CONYNGHAM -- Greencastle will have to take the long route to a state championship.

On Friday afternoon, Greencastle ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Council Rock Newton, which smacked 15 hits on its way to a 17-5 victory in the Pennsylvania Little League 10-11 State Tournament.

Council Rock advanced to the championship game and will await the winner of Greencastle (10-2) vs. State College today at 6 p.m.

State College eliminated Keystone with a 4-2 win Friday night.

"We played (Council Rock) last week at the Pennsylvania East Tournament and they beat us pretty good as well (22-9)," Greencastle coach Larry Kline said. "They are a very tough team. We'll have to play our best game to beat them, but we've got to get through State College first."

Council Rock led 1-0 entering the third inning before the floodgates opened. It scored six times in the top of the third to chase Greencastle starter Matthew Kline (3-1) and grab a 7-0 advantage.

Greencastle didn't go down quietly, as Myles Gayman pounded a solo homer -- his fourth of this postseason -- and Derek Measell added a three-run shot to cut the deficit to 7-4.

But that was all the closer Greencastle would get, as Council Rock scored twice in the fourth inning, three more times in the fifth and five times in the sixth.

The loss means Greencastle must win three times to be crowned state champs.

"I think they can bounce back," Larry Kline said. "It's just a matter if we have enough pitching

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to get through tomorrow before we get back to our normal rotation on Sunday. As far as the boys bouncing back, I think we'll be OK."

Tonight's game will be broadcast live on the Web -- go to http://www.klinetours.com and look for the link.

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Council Rock Newton 17

Greencastle 5

Council Rock Newton 016 235 -- 17-15-0

Greencastle 004 010 -- 5-8-0

LP--Matthew Kline (3-1).

2B--(G) Myles Gayman (4), Derek Measell (1).