BRYAN -- For the second time in four years and the seventh in club history, the Defiance ACME baseball team earned the honor of being crowned Ohio's top team with a 10-9 thriller over the Northmont Thunderbolts on Saturday afternoon at Bryan's Sumpter Field.

But before Defiance head coach Bryn Lehman was doused with a postgame Gatorade bath, the Thunderbolts more than proved that nothing's over till it's over.

Down by as much as seven runs heading into the third frame, Northmont (36-6) rallied for eight runs and allowed just a pair over the next five innings, making the Bulldogs earn every ounce of their team trophy and then some.

"This game was weird because it felt like, even though we were ahead the whole game, they had the momentum a lot of times," admitted Lehman. "We won every inning up until the sixth inning when they scored a couple, but it just felt like it was anybody's game the whole time. Even when it was 8-1, I felt like they were going to make a push, and they did."

After scoring two runs in the top of the first and another in the second for a quick 3-0 lead, it seemed as though Defiance was not about to let it go to a second game in the double-elimination tournament, which would have been necessary had the Bolts pulled off the upset.

And then came the third.

Derek Turner got things going with one way, reaching first on an error before scoring on a triple by senior catcher Joe Keween. Designated hitter Austin Yant then took first after being plunked by Northmont starting pitcher Connor Coy, while Alek Smith scored Keween on a perfect bunt which also put Smith safely on first before swiping second on a steal.

As the 'Dogs continued to pour it on with a 5-0 lead, senior nine-hole hitter Drake Jimenez continued the hit parade, smacking a hard double to left center to plate pinch-runner Jacob Green from third and Smith from second.

Two more stellar bunts by leadoff hitter Dom Gentile and two-man Adam Schaffer packed the bases, setting up a Dom Romero sacrifice fly and giving Defiance a sizeable 8-1 margin.

"We got runners on and just put the ball in play, that's all we were really doing, putting the ball in play as hard as you can," Jimenez commented. "Down and hard, that's what the coach said."

The Bulldogs' third-frame explosion included five runs on four hits and the costly Northmont error that started it all.

"(This game) did have a little bit of everything," said Northmont head coach Brian Tolle. "We started off and made a couple of errors here and there, but they did too, and it got us back in the game towards the end. I thought we had high energy the whole time and they fought. That's all you can ask for from these kids."

Toeing the rubber for Defiance, Gentile opened the bottom of the third strong, getting nine-hitter Austin Sanders on a 5-3 groundout to Smith at third on the opening pitch.

However, that was as easy as it got for Gentile and the Bulldogs, as a leadoff single by Keegan Rottgen preceded four straight walks and a wild pitch, forcing Lehman to swap out Gentile for Mazen Kanouh with the bases full and Northmont challenging at 8-3.

But Kanouh's first pitch to Ty Bussey resulted in an RBI single, while a subsequent freebie to Bobby Saul walked in the fourth run of the inning. A liner and groundout to Jimenez at second finally got the Bulldogs out of the inning, but not before the home team closed the gap to 8-5.

"That's how this game goes, you've just got to stay even-keel," explained the Defiance mentor. "We put a big five-spot up and we were feeling good, but we thought they were going to lay down. They battled ... they came back and scored four. It just shows that they're a very talented team. They weren't going to lay down, they were going to battle till the end."

Following a scoreless fourth inning, the 'Dogs went on the offensive again to open the fifth.

Leading off the frame by forcing a walk, Jimenez was pushed to second on a Gentile sac bunt. With runners on first and second after Schaffer was hit by a pitch, Romero hit the gap in right center for an RBI single, scoring Jimenez before Schaffer scored on a Rob Zeigler sac fly to stretch the Bulldog lead to 10-5.

"In close games like this, it's the bunts, it's the defensive plays, getting the lead runner ... doing anything possible to get an out or make a play," Lehman commented. "The little things are what win you championships, and we've got guys who make plays and do the little things."

But it was the bottom half of the fifth when the tide noticeably began to turn in Northmont's favor.

With two quick outs in the books, the Thunderbolts edged closer at 10-7, plating a pair of tallies on three crucial Defiance errors and a hit off of Kanouh. And when the Bulldogs came up fruitless in a 1-2-3 sixth, the tide went full-tilt.

A stunner off the bat of Alex Farlow forced an early exit for Kanouh, who opened the bottom half with a free pass to Troy Mangen. Farlow's hard line shot sizzled squarely into the midriff of the Defiance righty, sending him to the bench and Mangen to second base, with Bussey due up to face southpaw reliever Weston Rivers.

The Bulldog left-hander squelched the rally with a pair of strikeouts, but not before two RBI singles made it a dicey one-run ballgame.

"I knew I had to throw them strikes, and the strikeouts just set the tone I think," said Rivers, who was named MVP of the state tourney. "I threw the knuckleball to the kid to end the inning ... it was a good feeling right there. We tried keeping it to them, but then we would lose focus, regain it, put it back to them but then let them back in."

Another scoreless inning sent Defiance back into the field with Northmont's two, three and four-hitters coming to the plate.

"They energy was high," said Tolle. "I told them wait till you get a strike, make them work, see if we can get a few walks here and there. But (Rivers) is a helluva pitcher. He threw strikes, got ahead and made us have to swing. He wanted us to earn it."

After a 1-3 groundout and a Josh Hampton liner to Gentile at short brought on two quick out, Mangen appeared to take his coaches' advice, working a dramatic full count against Rivers with the game on the line.

But the Northmont slugger slapped a grounder to Jimenez at second, who navigated a wicked hop and put the game away with a toss to Zeigler at first.

"I was mostly trying to keep it in front of me, really," said Jimenez. "I knew with nobody on there was no pressure. It was a championship game, but keeping it in front was really my biggest goal. It took a little hop at the end, but I just got in front of it and made the play."

Defiance (34-5) capped off an 11-1 ACME postseason run, outscoring its opponents by an overall margin of 77-22.

Those named to the State ACME All-Tournament Team were as follows: Ty Torrez (Napoleon), Zach Willeman (Napoleon), Steve Slocum (Perrysburg), Kyle Durham (Perrysburg), Troy Mangen (Northmont), Keegan Rottgen (Northmont), Derek Turner (Defiance), Dom Gentile (Defiance) and Weston Rivers (Defiance).

Linescore

Defiance 215 020 0 - 10 10 4

Northmont 104 022 0 - 9 9 2

Records: Defiance 34-5, Northmont 36-6.

Winning pitcher: Dom Gentile (2 1/3 innings 5 runs, 2 hits, 1 strikeout, 4 walks). Others: Mazen Kanouh (2 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 5 hits, 0 strikeouts, 2 walks), Weston Rivers (2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 2 strikeouts, 0 walks).

Losing pitcher: Connor Coy (2 1/3 innings, 7 runs, 5 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts). Others: Tyler Hartley (2 innings, 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 strikeouts, 1 walk), Dustin Easton (2 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 strikeout, 1 walk).

Leading hitters: (Defiance, 10 hits) - Derek Turner double; Joe Keween triple; Alek Smith 2 singles; Drake Jimenez double. (Northmont, 9 hits) - Troy Mangen double; Graham Oberer 2 singles.