AUBURN - Under the bright skies at the South King County Ball Fields, the Federal Way National All-Star team used terrific pitching and solid defense to edge out Kent 2-0 on Friday for the championship of the 2007 Little League 9-10 age District 10 tournament.

This group of players will next play in Vancouver on July 13 in the state championship tournament.

Goose eggs dominated the scoreboard for four innings as National's fireballing right-hander Markus Montolongo emulated a vintage Roger Clemens while opposing pitcher Kade Kryxsko exhibited his best Greg Maddux style of effectiveness.

Federal Way's favorable foray presented itself in the top of the fifth inning. Christian Stafford stroked a 1-out single to right field to begin the opportunity. Stephen Swan then hit a slow rolling ground ball to the left side of the infield and legged it out for a base hit. On the throw to first base Stafford boldly braved a try for third and slid in safe as Swan alertly high tailed it to second. Lawyer Braun followed by hammering a 2-run double to left field for a 2-0 National lead.

"It sounds kind of funny, but I always keep the Easton part of my bat up and last game I did that and was 4-for-4," Braun explained.

Kent had the first chance to score in the first inning during this sensational pitching duel. A two-out single by Kryszko scored a run, but the run was nullified due to obstruction of the shortstop by the runner advancing from second base.

"There was like two outs and I knew if I could make him hit the ball, he would probably be out," explained Montolongo. "I was pitching mostly fastballs with some curves."

Federal Way National experienced one more crucial escape in Kent's half of the fifth inning. One hit batter, an infield error and a base hit combined to load the bases with one out. Montolongo reared back to strike out the next batter before giving way to lefty relief hurler Scotty Sunitsch after pitching four and two thirds innings with eight strikeouts. Montolongo allowed only four hits in his stint on the mound.

As the game hung in the balance, Sunitsch calmly coaxed the next batter to fly out to shallow center field, thus stifling the attempted rally. Pitching from the stretch, Sunitsch stayed in focus to set the Kent All-Stars down in order in the sixth to earn a save and preserve the win which was met by a cascade of cheers from the National supporters.

"I'm used to being mainly a relief pitcher," said Sunitsch. "I don't start much. I was kind of under pressure when I first went in, but I was used to it...I was doing fine and just let it go."

Success in the tournament depended upon several elements.

"Probably defense and good base running," stated Stafford who batted 2-for-2 in the title tiff and was solid at the plate throughout all the games. Following through when I'm batting helps me."

Federal Way National inaugurated its tournament with a donnybrook against Federal Way American. Lagging behind 9-1 the Americans charged back to tie the game 9-9. Stafford's double for two runs returned the Nationals to the top in a 12-9 win. Execution and timely hits lifted the National All-Stars from a 2-0 deficit into a 4-3 win against defending state champion Auburn.

Hard hitting enabled National to blast perennial power Kent 10-5 and gain the championship round as the only unbeaten squad.

"This is an incredible group of kids," exhorted National manager John Sugg. "Ten of the thirteen boys played Majors this year...There are a lot of parents engaged and involved in the kids' development. It's very rare to see kids this age that are so resilient when they are in jams. They found a way to battle out of situations. To get out of those innings and get a shut out today was incredible."

Sugg also spent a few moments describing the effect on his league.

"Auburn and Kent have been the teams to beat for years," he concluded. "We've kind of been the third horse in the race for awhile. For us to get over the hump with this win was important for our league."

District 10 champion players are Lawyer Braun, Dax Wallat, Markus Montolongo, Garrett Westberg, Scottie Sunitsch, Kaden Jacobs, Christian Stafford, Max Dalrymple, Daniel Ochs, Andrew Ellingsen, Jon Charbonneau, Stephen Swan and Tanner Knapp.

Helping manager Sugg prepare the All-Stars for tournament action are coaches Steve Pearson, Tom Wallat, Scott Sunitsch and Brian Westberg.