Madison — They were five outs away from losing and tied the game.

They watched what all onlookers thought was the game winning single for Madison in extra innings, only to have center fielder Bradley Ament cut down the run at the plate.

They took a two-run lead in the top of the eighth on Wyatt Farrior’s home run … and lost the lead two strikes away from victory.

And then finally, more than two hours after it began, Jake Palermo squeezed the final out in the bottom of the ninth, sending East Lyme into the happiest of piles, celebrating the Connecticut Section 3 Little League (10-12) baseball title on Friday night.

East Lyme 4, Madison 3.

“I’m elated,” East Lyme coach Joel Farrior said, not long after a group bear hug with his staff.

East Lyme advances to the four-team state championship double-elimination tournament next week against an opponent to be determined at the Waterford Little League complex. But what has been determined: This is a team that truly believes its team mantra.

“One of the things we say to the kids all the time,” Farrior said, “is we’ll (the coaches) say ‘we’re the team that what?’ and the kids reply, ‘stays calm.’”

They stayed calm through what felt like a season’s worth of emotions passing with each pitch.

Wyatt Farrior struck out 10 in 5.1 innings, leaving with the game tied at 1. East Lyme tied the game in the fifth when Jayson Tejada drew a bases-loaded walk during a rally that started with two outs and nobody on.

In the bottom of the seventh with the game tied at 1, Madison’s Ashton Hagen singled to center with teammate Liam Balogh at second. Ament fired home and pegged Balogh whose slide could not elude catcher Kyle Cellemme.

“Bradley’s one of the best outfielders I’ve ever coached,” Farrior said. “He was one of the unsung heroes tonight.”

Farrior admitted to a “proud dad moment” in the eighth, watching his son hit a two-out, two-run homer that gave East Lyme a 3-1 lead.

“If I’m being honest,” Wyatt Farrior said, “I didn’t really feel any pressure in that spot. I just wanted to hit the ball and give our pitcher the lead.”

Madison’s Josh Maynard hit a two-run double to tie it in the bottom of the inning, another swing of the emotional pendulum. But in the ninth, Cooper Siragusa, who pitched a noteworthy two innings of scoreless relief, doubled home Cellemme with the go-ahead run. Palermo worked a scoreless ninth, escaping a two-on, one-out jam.

“We knew it was going to be a close game,” Wyatt Farrior said. “Madison is a good team.”

m.dimauro@theday.com