Middletown — Raise your hand if you've read this line before:

Waterford High School will be playing for a state championship.

It has applied to Lancers, Lancers everywhere in recent years, including participants of basketball, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, baseball, wrestling, cheerleading and softball since 2009.

Now comes the latest: The 15th-seeded baseball team's 16-5 stroll over No. 6 Masuk on Tuesday night at Palmer Field sends the Lancers to the weekend's state championship game against No. 1 Berlin — back at Palmer Field — Friday night at 7.

A victory would give Waterford (19-9) its state-best 11th state championship.

Winning pitcher Ryan O'Connell added to his big-game resume, allowing three runs in six innings. O'Connell also scored 14 points and had 15 rebounds during Waterford's state championship basketball game win in March and was the winning pitcher in the Babe Ruth state championship game last summer.

"I love these moments," O'Connell said. "I know my team does too. We had to make a statement tonight because a lot of people have counted us out because of our record this year. We live for this atmosphere."

Waterford will be playing for its second state title in three years.

"The kids are happy but they're not satisfied," Waterford coach Art Peluso said. "The expectation is that if you make the state championship game, you win the state championship. But I know Berlin has a very solid baseball team."

The Lancers trailed 1-0 in the second inning before assuming control of the game. Connor Podeszwa, who would later make a diving catch in left field, led off with a walk. Anthony Tonucci sacrificed him to second before Ryan Salvador's single to left gave Waterford runners on first and third.

Ryan Bakken's sacrifice fly tied the game, leaving Salvador at first with two outs. After a walk to Payton Sutman and a wild pitch advanced the runners, Ben Jerome authored the game's biggest hit, a two-out, two-run single that gave Waterford the lead for good. Jerome later stole home, scoring as Sonny Pezzello stole second simultaneously.

Waterford added a run on Bakken's RBI single in the third and four more in the fifth when Tonucci scored on a wild pitch and RBI singles from Jerome, Cadin Maynard and Jared Burrows.

The Lancers made it 11-1 in the sixth on Bakken's two-run single. Bakken finished with four RBI. It went to 15-1 on Maynard's 3-run triple. He also finished with four RBI.

m.dimauro@theday.com