Perky

brought in Rick Gorrell (double).

Then the Packers went ahead for good.

Sperling drew a walk to start the fifth, and Dave Tatoian’s one-out double gave the Pack runners on second and third. On came Blazynski.

“With the infield in, and having a catcher’s perspective as far as what pitches are gonna be called, I was just trying to keep my hands inside the ball and work through it,” said Blazynski, who was able to supply the key hit against the Tigers’ Logan Willans. “I wanted to give myself the maximum contact zone and if the ball goes the other way, so be it.”

Blazynski’s clutch single hugged the inside of the first-base line, bouncing clean through to allow Sperling and Tatoian to race home for a 4-2 NorGwyn advantage.

The Packers padded their lead in the seventh when Sperling walked and later scored on a fielder’s choice, then inflated it further on Knipe’s grand slam, making it 9-2. FAMILIAR TERRITORY » NorGwn battled back from an 0-2 hole in last year’s semifinals against Ambler and hopes to be making a similar push.

“We’ve been in this situation many times,” Packers manager Tony “Pep” DiBricida said. “The first two games, we didn’t look like a championship team. We played awful. When we get pushed to the brink, we wake up. And that’s what we did.

“Clutch hitting. And Blaze set the tone. He had three RBI’s on the first four runs, and then we just got a perfect spot, perfect pitch with Michael. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and force a Game Five.”