Westfield, Mass. - There were disappointments for the Waterford Babe Ruth 14-year-old team, including the final outcome Tuesday afternoon, which meant the other guys advanced to the World Series.

But there was also a Waterford comeback that was both tear-producing (the happy kind) and standing ovation-inducing, when No. 9 hitter Cory Conderino bashed a three-run home run to right with one out in the top of the sixth inning, tying the score 5-5 on a day that didn't seem to be going Waterford's way.

Waterford eventually fell 6-5 to the Mickey Hanagan All-Stars of Manchester, N.H., on a game-winning hit by Drew Merrick in the bottom of he seventh inning of the New England Tournament championship game, but not without a great deal of perseverance.

"I'm proud of our team. we didn't know we were going to get this far," Waterford starting pitcher Mitchell Clapsadle said. "Right now we're just all disappointed."

"They kept fighting," Waterford manager Ed Pinch said. "They did a good job overcoming a crazy rule that kind of went against us. They kind of hung their heads a little bit, but remember they're 14. We just reminded them that bad things happen and that we've scored seven runs in one inning before; we did yesterday. You can't lose sight of what we're capable of."

The "crazy rule" was the first bad news of the day for Waterford, which advanced to the championship game with a 10-0 victory over Norwood, Mass., on Monday, backed by a no-hitter from pitcher Jacob Gannon.

Against Manchester, Waterford took a 2-1 lead in the second inning of the championship game on a two-out, two-run double by Ben Pickowitz that sailed to the fence in right field. In the bottom of the inning, however, an acrobatic catch by Pickowitz in right and the ensuing inning-ending double play spelled trouble for Waterford.

With runners on second and third, Manchester's Joey Silver hit the ball on a line to Pickowitz, who somehow contorted himself for the catch and threw to second for the force out, as both runners took off thinking the ball would fall in for a hit.

Waterford then ran off the field, seemingly with the momentum and the score still knotted at two, when the umpiring crew informed the official scorer that the Manchester runner on third, despite never tagging up, scored to make it 3-2.

Pinch was informed his team would have had to tag third to protest the runner, resulting in a "fourth out," before the players left the field in order for that run not to count.

Pinch took the blame for not appealing to third, but said he didn't know the run scored until the umpire made the declaration after his team already left the field.

"It was a rough game today," he said.

Manchester then added two runs in the fifth for a 5-2 lead and moved another runner to third on an error.

But just when it appeared Waterford might come unglued, just the opposite happened. Clapsadle led off with a single and pinch hitter Steven Gerovitz followed with a bullet to left for a base hit on the first pitch. Pickowitz reached on a fielder's choice, forcing Gerovitz at second, and Pickowitz stole second to put runners on second and third for Conderino.

"I wasn't trying to hit a home run," said Conderino, who practically danced with joy around the bases and was met at home by the whole Waterford team. "It was my first hit all tournament. I haven't been seeing the ball well; I haven't been hitting.

"I thought it was going to be a sacrifice fly so I ran to first and watched. But it didn't win anything."

Clapsadle then put two runners on in the sixth, but induced a popup and a groundout to push the game to the seventh. Dan Castelpoggi singled and reached third for Waterford, but couldn't score, giving Manchester the last at-bat.

Clapsadle recorded a strikeout and a walk before being relieved by Tyler Howser. Waterford then made back-to-back errors to put runners on second and third for Manchester's Merrick, who won the game with his second hit of the day.

"After Cory's hit we were kind of pumped up," said Clapsadle, entering his sophomore year at Norwich Tech. "… We're just going to get better for next year."

v.fulkerson@theday.com