Extra innings are nothing new to the Birches and Northampton.

Wednesday night was no different as the teams once again played extra frames in their Norco Legion playoff game.This time, Northampton only needed one added inning of play to post a 5-4 win and finish off a sweep of their best-of-three playoff series."We have played them three times," Northampton manager Mike Bodnar said. "Once in the regular season, and now twice in the postseason. We played 10 innings in the regular season game against them, and took them right to the end again."We had a close game the other day (a 4-2 win on Tuesday in Northampton), and a close game today. They're a good team."Early in the game, it looked as if Northampton starter Rodney Berger, Jr. wouldn't need extra innings to post a win. But after retiring the first 13 batters he faced, Berger lost his perfect game when the Birches' Connor Pandolfo ripped a single up the middle.Pandolfo found his way into scoring position, moving to third base on an error and a fielder's choice. Evan Bond then tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI single.The Birches took the lead in the home sixth when CJ Peechatka singled, stole second, and scored on an infield error. A Pandolfo single, a walk, and another Northampton miscue increased the lead to 3-1."That's the way we have been all year," said Birches' manager Al Foust of his team scoring late in games. "We have been a slow starting team. We score our runs late."With the Birches on the verge of forcing a decisive third game, Northampton rallied in the seventh inning as Jared Angerman delivered an RBI single and Ian Luberti hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3.In extra innings, Northampton's CJ Gantz delivered a two-run triple to give the visitors a 5-3 lead.The Birches made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth when Brett Hardy scored on a sacrifice fly. But, courtesy runner Colin Stivak was left stranded at third base when the last out of the game was recorded."We have a lot of new kids," said Foust, who's program won the Norco Legion championship last season. "Most players on this team can come back next year. To tell you the truth, I didn't really expect to make the playoffs this year, but they came through in the end, and I couldn't have asked for more from them."Northampton's a good team, and we gave them a run for their money two days in a row. A break here and there and we could have won."NINE FOR NO. 9 … In six innings of work, Birches' starter Hardy recorded nine strikeouts, which matched the number on the back of his jersey.NOT IN PANDOLFO'S HOUSE … Birches' catcher Pandolfo gunned down two Northampton players attempting to steal bases.OFFENSIVE STAR… Pandolfo also had a big game at the plate. He finished with two singles and a run scored.Northampton 010 000 22 - 5 12 3Birches 000 012 01 - 4 5 0Berger, Jr., Serman (6), Bennett (7) and Lambert; Hardy, Smiley (7) and Pandolfo. W - Bennett. L - Smiley.