MERIDIAN — Korbyn Sires hit a screaming liner — right into Butler second baseman Colin Neubauer’s glove.

Just like that, Butler had its first District 25 Little League All-Star championship since 2010.

Colin went down to one knee to spear the line drive with two outs and the tying run at third as Butler held on to defeat Franklin, 4-3, Wednesday night in the district final at the Meridian complex. Butler shortstop Nate Gilkey threw a runner out while down on one knee to begin the second inning.

“These boys can play some baseball,” Butler coach Walt Neubauer said.

Franklin grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Justin Armamant drilled a two-run homer well over the fence in left. The home run was Justin’s 10th of the season.

Butler got on the board in the bottom of the inning after Nate Gilkey and Hunter Knapik walked and Cooper Hilliard delivered a two-out RBI single to right.

“We won the coin toss before the game and weren’t quite sure what to do,” Coach Neubauer said. “We’ve been the visitors all the way through this tournament and have been able to score early to grab the lead.

“This was the first time we had to play from behind.”

They wasted little time doing it.

Kayne Scott doubled with one out in the second inning. With two outs, Nate and Hunter had infield singles to load the bases. Sam Vicari struck out, but the third strike eluded the catcher and Kayne was able to score when he touched the plate before the tag. Sam reached first on the play.

Torin Bell — Butler’s starting pitcher — hit a two-run single up the middle to give his team the lead it never lost.

“I just had to get a hit there,” Torin said. “If I didn’t get one, I’m not sure we would have won this game.”

Torin struck out five in the first two innings before moving behind the plate for the final four frames. His pitch count was in the 30’s.

“He’s our regular catcher and if he threw 41 pitches, the rule states we’re not allowed to use him at catcher the rest of the game,” Neubauer said. “That’s the reason we took him out.”

Kayne pitched the final four frames, allowing three hits, to get the win. But it didn’t come easily.

Franklin had runners at second and third with two outs ion the fourth, but Kayne escaped unscathed by striking out the final hitter of that frame. Damian Cassano led off the sixth with an infield single, moving to second on a throwing error. He got to third on a wild pitch.

Carter Barret hit a fly ball to center for the second out. Center field Drew Cuny threw a strike to the plate, but Damian slid home safely on a close play.

Luke Marsteller reached on an infield single, moved to second on an errant pickoff throw, then stole third. He was left there when Colin caught that liner.

“Colin dives for everything,” Kayne said, smiling. “That’s the way he plays. Even if a ball is hit right at him, he’ll step off to the side so he can dive for it.

“But he catches everything.”

Franklin defeated Cranberry, 5-4, on Monday to earn a shot at Butler in the final. Butler defeated Franklin, 6-1, at Meridian on Friday. Franklin would have had to defeat Butler twice to win the double-elimination tournament.

“We hit some balls hard, but they made the plays,” Franklin coach Dan Marsteller said. “This was a good game. This is the first time we’ve played all-stars in three years. I imagine we’ll put a team in next year, too.”

Neubauer said Butler’s team “was kind off tossed together at the last minute, through player evaluations and coaches’ views.”

Butler’s roster came from four in-house teams. Butler will compete in the section tournament July 19-23 in Cranberry, Venango County.

“We haven’t had one practice with these kids,” Neubauer said. “I’m sure we’ll get some practices in now.”

Franklin200001 — 3 51

Butler13000xx — 472

W: Kayne Scott 4IP (3K, 1BB). L: Lucas McCool 2.2IP (3K, 2BB)

Franklin: Isaac Grisby 1B, Damian Cassano 1B, Justin Armamant HR 2-RBI, Carter Barret RBI, Luke Marsteller 1B

Butler: Nate Gilkey 1B, Hunter Knapik 1B 2-R, Torin Bell 1B 2-RBI, Cooper Hilliard 1B RBI, Colin Neubauer 1B, Drew Cuny 1B, Kayne Scott 2B

Next: Butler at Section Tournament in Cranberry, Venango Catholic, July 19-23