Top-ranked Gloucester County College recovered from a late meltdown to beat the No. 2 Apaches, 5-4, in 10 innings Wednesday night in the final game of the NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series at Mike Carter Field.

The Roadrunners (43-2) finished 4-0 in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament to capture the program's sixth national championship. They celebrated in typical dog-pile fashion, and they were joined by a group of Tyler Little Leaguers (each World Series participant is sponsored by a local Little League team).

"I'm so proud of my guys, the way they played," said Gloucester head coach Mike Dickson. "They showed such mental toughness. ... We are playing in Tyler's ballpark. There was a nice crowd out to see them and they were able to battle a tough Tyler ballclub."

The Apaches (47-14) were bidding for their second World Series title in four years, but it would have taken not only a victory on Wednesday but a second win today. TJC won four elimination games in three days after losing a 4-3, extra-inning thriller to Gloucester in the opening round.

"It's a tribute to the 34 guys on our roster all year," said first-year TJC head coach Doug Wren. "It can't say enough about them."

After blowing a three-run lead and going scoreless since the fourth inning, the Roadrunners scored the decisive run in the top of the 10th.

Logan Morello (2 for 5) drove a low pitch off Keaton Parsell deep into the gap in left-center field for an RBI double to give Gloucester a 5-4 lead. Mark Malec scored on the play after reaching on an error and advancing to second on a sacrifice.

"I was trying to hit the ball hard - just put the bat on the ball," Morello said.

Gloucester's third pitcher, Mike Ney (9-0), worked the final two innings for the win. He allowed only a two-out single by Cole Lehmann in the 10th. Ney fanned Conn McWilliams for the final out to set off a celebration that resonated to the New Jersey shore.

A full moon broke through the clouds in the seventh inning and the Mike Carter magic returned briefly for the Apaches.

Held to two hits through six innings, TJC scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull even with Gloucester (N.J.) at 4-4.

The Roadrunners lost their composure in the seventh inning with two errors and a balk, leading to three unearned runs and a tie game.

McWilliams led off the bottom of the frame with a double - TJC's first hit since the second. Jeff Pine reached on an error when the first baseman dropped a slightly wide throw from the shortstop, allowing McWilliams to advance to third.

Josh Bates singled through the right side of the infield to score McWilliams for the Apaches' second run.

The Apaches were gifted their third run off a routine grounder to the shortstop, who failed to get the force at second with a wild throw into right field. Pine scored on the play to cut the deficit to 4-3, and it also moved the runners to second and third.

Bates scored the tying run on a balk by reliever Matt Smith, who was ahead 0-2 on Josh Salmon with two outs. Smith finally retired the side by getting Salmon to fly out to deep right.

"I think it was a great baseball game," Wren said. "Obviously, they pitched really well and we caught a few breaks ... we were able to tie it up. We had our opportunities and just one pitch away. It was actually a good pitch (to Morello), and he made a good swing on it."

Gloucester scored in three of the first four innings for a 4-1 lead off TJC starter Eric Bingham, who was pulled two batters into the fourth. Bingham, making his second start of the tournament on just two days' rest, allowed four runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Josh Holley, a freshman from Chapel Hill, provided much-needed relief out of the bullpen as he shut out Gloucester for 3 1-3 innings.

Holley was replaced by Brownsboro graduate Parsell one out into the seventh, and the big sophomore right-hander put the Roadrunners on lockdown as he retired eight of the nine batters he faced through the ninth inning.

Parsell, eager to pitch after making his first appearance in the tournament, recorded four strikeouts and allowed only a two-out single before the 10th.

TJC scored its first run of the game in the second inning on Clayton Warren's triple to score Max Freeman, who had singled.

SMOKE SIGNALS: The game started an hour late due to a surprise pop-up thunderstorm that drenched Mike Carter Field about 2:30 p.m. ... There was not enough time to get the tarp over the infield, officials said. ... The national tournament is committed to Tyler for the next two years. Tyler's first year as host was 2007 when the Apaches captured the championship. ... Getting hits for TJC in the final game were Bates (1 for 4), Freeman (1 for 2), Lehmann (1 for 4), McWilliams (1 for 3) and Warren (1 for 2).

Game 14

Championship Round

Gloucester 5, Tyler 4 (10)

Gloucester 110 200 000 1 - 5 10 4

Tyler 010 000 300 0 - 4 5 1

Frank Vitrano, Matt Smith (7), Mike Ney (9) and Jim Best. Eric Bingham, Josh Holley (4), Keaton Parsell (7) and Cole Lehmann. W - Ney (9-0); L - Parsell (1-2). 2B - GCC: Best, Dave Prager, Logan Morello; TJC: Conn McWilliams. 3B - TJC: Clayton Warren. SB - GCC: Alexi Colon; TJC: Josh Bates. SAC - GCC: Prager; TJC: Lehmann.

RECORDS - Gloucester 43-2; Tyler 47-14.

EST. ATT. - 1,500.