LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Strong pitching performances and sparkling defense have been the story of the American Legion District 10 playoffs thus far and Tuesday's night's game was no exception.Manheim Township hurler Alex Sota and Lititz counterpart Brandon Geib went toe-to-toe for five innings at Westfield Park with neither team able to push across a run. Township, however, needing a win to stay alive in the tournament, broke the cycle with a six-run sixth inning en route to a 6-0 victory.

Now, both Township and Lititz, which suffered its first defeat of the postseason, have a loss, setting up Thursday's winner-takes-the-crown championship game at 7 p.m. back at Westfield.

Two-run singles by Pete Andrelczyk and Josh Bucher were the big blows for Township in the sixth.

Geib was lifted for a reliever in the sixth but Sota went the distance, surrendering only three hits. It was an efficient 78-pitch performance that saw Sota induce nine ground ball outs and eight fly ball outs.

"I was hitting my spots," said Sota, who pitched a four-hitter against Lancaster in Township's playoff opener. "I just tried to go one batter at a time and our defense played real well."

Township's defense picked up where it left off Monday, thwarting opposition scoring chances. Andrelczyk, playing centerfield, robbed Branson Kline with a runner on second, making a diving catch in left-center in the second inning. Left fielder Shawn Keller negated a potential double off Geib's bat (again, with a runner on second), catching a deep fly ball and then falling against the fence.

Township shortstop Austin Gallagher cut down a Lititz run in the fifth when he threw home to nail Kline who was trying to score on Ben Hutchison's grounder.

Lititz, too, made some fine plays in the field. J.J. Palomarez backhanded a grounder behind third and threw across the diamond for the out in the second inning. Lititz first baseman Rich Berkey snagged a hard-hit grounder in the fourth to start a 3-3-6 doubleplay.

John Dochterman and Dane Yoder ignited Township's sixth-inning rally by working walks. Palomarez relieved Geib (five innings, three hits, three Ks) and was greeted by Keller's sacrifice bunt. The trouble for Lititz was, there was no one covering first base, so the bases were loaded.

"Brandon pitched a great game for (Lititz) and we thought that if we could just get a couple of baserunners it might make the difference," Butz said.

Gallagher then worked a walk, giving Township a 1-0 lead.

Palomarez got an out on an infield pop but George Eager, with only 33 at-bats this season, came up and successfully executed a safety squeeze, increasing the lead to 2-0.

"That was a fairly safe play at that point," Butz said. "We were playing for the extra run."

Andrelczyk followed with a rip to left, plating the third and fourth runs, and one batter later, Bucher did the same, his hit going to right-center for a 6-0 Township lead.

"I was just trying to put something in play," said Andrelczyk, who was down in the count 0-2 before getting the hit. "I fought it off and it worked out."

Andrelczyk, who pitched a four-hit shutout against Hempfield July 15, will start Thursday. He's given up only two extra-base hits in 382-einnings this season. He will be opposed by Lititz's Ben Hutchison.

Township (19-4) has played with its back to the wall twice in the tournament and won both times. Now Lititz (13-10) gets to experience the feeling.

"You come out here every day knowing you might not be playing tomorrow," Andrelczyk said. "You want to play every day so you keep fighting."

Notes: American Legion District 10 officials handed out postseason awards prior to the game. Ephrata's Nick Clingan was named the East Division MVP, Hempfield's Sean Killian was named the West Division MVP and Penn Manor's Dan Kauffman was named the South Division MVP. The Sam Banner Award, given to the league's outstanding pitcher, went to Hempfield pitcher Austin Hinkle. The Leon Duckworth Memorial Award, given to the league's top catcher, went to Hempfield's Killian. The Anthony "Ants" Souders Memorial Award, given to the coach of the year, went to Lititz skipper Ron Jones. The league's outstanding infielder was Penn Manor's Nick Spisak and the league's outstanding outfielder was Manheim Township's Shawn Keller. Outstanding umpire of the year went to Rich Martin. ... Lititz catcher Matt Jones was inadvertantly referred to as Nate Jones in Tuesday's Intell.