The Padres jumped off to a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the title game when Joe Davis singled, moved to third on a passed ball and an error, and came home on a Mike Greenwood single. Starting pitcher Chad Magoulas, meanwhile, retired six straight Vipers’ hitters.

In the third inning, the Vipers bounced back with a single by Cody Gotthardt and Dan Aurelia’s home run blast over the center field fence. The Vipers upped the lead to 4-1 after Patrick Milano and Ben Stoller singled and came around to score on a fielding error and a walk.

The Padres rallied in the bottom of the inning when Clayton Makuch smacked a single to right center, scoring Kevin LeBlanc and Jimmy Russo. Davis followed with a single, and Greenwood doubled, bringing home Mike Newman and Makuch. Magoulas blasted a long double to right to score Davis and Greenwood, and then came home on a fielding error.

LeBlanc and Davis held the Vipers scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings. In the top of the fourth, the Vipers loaded the bases with no outs after John Lebinski walked, Cole Baldino singled and Gotthardt walked. Aurelia then hit a wicked line drive to third that Makuch caught before stepping on third for an alert double play. Joey Coehlo then singled to right. Colin Cooper fielded the ball and threw to second baseman Matt Spencer, who threw a strike to catcher Greenwood at home plate to gun down the runner and end the inning.

Vipers pitcher Nicky Sajovic blanked the Padres in the bottom of the inning, striking out two batters. He yielded two unearned runs in the fifth, when Newman and Makuch scored on fielding errors to increase the lead to 10-4.

The Vipers tried to rally in the final inning behind a walk by Jeff Grasso, a double by Richard Sandler and an RBI groundout by David Lucia. But Davis put out the fire, getting the final batter to ground out to Spencer at second.

The win upped the Padres’ playoff record to 4-0, including a 14-7 third-round playoff win over the Vipers’ last Friday at Treadwell Park. In that game, the Padres scored nine second-inning runs on six walks, two errors and singles by Davis and Greenwood.

Davis and Makuch each scored three times during the game, and Davis had two hits. Magoulas pitched a scoreless first inning, and Davis got the save.

The Vipers’ offense was led by Gotthardt. He knocked in a run with a bunt single in the second inning and drilled a three-run homer down the left field line in the fourth. Sandler also drove in a run with a double and Michael Allwein with a single.

After the defeat, the Vipers staved off elimination on Saturday at Glander by winning 11-4 over a tough team coached by Bob O’Keefe. Allwein rapped three hits, including a two-run double, and Lucia blasted a triple and knocked in a pair of runs. Grasso and Lebinski each slapped two singles. Lebinski’s hits drove in two runs, and Aurelia, Stoller and Sandler knocked in a run each. Sajovic pitched brilliantly, retiring all six batters he faced.

O’Keefe’s team was led by Kyle Wilcox, who singled and scored two runs, and Andrew Kelley, who rapped two singles. Tyler Gibney doubled, and Chris Robinson singled for the team’s only other hits.

 The Vipers’ win sent them to the championship game where their title hopes were derailed by the Padres. Besides the Padres’ players mentioned above, other key players on the championship team were Wyatt Depuy, Connor Mason and Eric Terhaar.

8 and under

The Red Wave dropped The Thunder, 12-4, as Jonathon Rospenda and CJ Dunn pitched well. Joseph Calbo iced the game with a three-run triple in the third and Jack Corbett and Cal Brock each had two RBI.