Maryland’s Delmar Little League beat New Jersey’s Monroe Township Little League 15-0 in a pool-play meeting at the 9/10 Eastern Region Invitational.

When the teams met again Saturday with the Mid-Atlantic championship on the line, it was a completely different story.

New Jersey - which had left Rhode Island and come back after an error in tie-breaking procedures - got two big innings and steady pitching from Brett Wichrowski then survived a late charge by Maryland to win 15-11.

“We just came to play,” said manager Jim Love. “We said, ‘Hey, we’re back. This is like free baseball for us. Let’s just go play.’”

New Jersey initially wasn’t in the title game, but when tournament officials realized they had made an error in the application of tie-breaking procedures, a change was made, with New Jersey replacing Pennsylvania. The New Jersey team was almost home when coaches got the call on Friday. Back they came on Saturday.

They arrived around 10:30 a.m., and were on the field a few hours later. They wasted little time making themselves at home again.

Wichrowski gave up three runs in 3.2 innings of work, and New Jersey broke open the game with six runs in the third inning and five in the fourth.

“The kids were ready to go,” Love said.

New Jersey took a 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded walk to Ryan Achey in the first inning. It was a sign of things to come, as Maryland pitchers would struggle to find the strike zone consistently all day.

And New Jersey took advantage. Wichrowski led off the third with a double and Dillon Love reached on an infield hit. A walk loaded the bases for Luke Dinger, who delivered an RBI single. New Jersey then scored two runs on bases-loaded walks, two on wild pitches and another on an RBI groundout by Caden Dulin. Just like that it was 7-0.

On the mound, Wichrowski struck out five and scattered four hits in the first three innings.

“Their first pitcher threw a great game, and our pitching the first few innings was below par,” said Maryland manager Roger Waters. “But hey, they’re 10. They had a great run.”

New Jersey tacked on five more runs in the fourth inning, with a three-run triple by Joey Racobaldo the big blow. Dulin added an RBI double.

“They came out and they were here to hit,” Jim Love said.

On the verge of a mercy-rule victory, New Jersey instead had to hold on for dear life the rest of the way. Maryland scored two runs to keep the game going in the fourth then scored four runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth. Luke Waters had a two-run single and an RBI double in the burst, while Gabe Rincon had a pair of doubles, part of a 4-for-4 day. Trent Kemp, Colby Timmons, Connor Defelice and Gavin Roystuart also knocked in runs.

“We battled back,” Roger Waters said.

But New Jersey managed to stay in front. It added a run in the fifth and two in the sixth for insurance. In the bottom of the sixth, Dulin finally closed the book on Maryland, inducing a ground ball for a force at second to end the game.

New Jersey went on to beat Connecticut for the Eastern Region championship.

Maryland headed home as Mid-Atlantic runners-up.

“We got farther than I ever expected,” Waters said. “The kids have loved every minute of it. It’s been a wonderful experience.”