The Bartow Blue penciled its name in the championship game of the 2010 District 5 Mite Girls Fastpitch Softball tournament with a dramatic come-from-behind victory Saturday afternoon.

The all-stars, trailing 4-1 as they went to bat in the top of the fourth inning at Hamilton Crossing Park, scored five runs on their way to a 6-4 lead.

The Cedartown Extreme failed to score the rest of the way, and that margin held up.

Peter Gillis, head coach for the Blue, said the turnaround in the game was not the result of a new player or change in strategy.

"The girls just dug deep down and played with heart," he said.

The Blue clawed its way back into the game in the early part of the fourth inning by playing small ball, getting on by walks, advancing on passed balls until it had knotted the score at 4-all.

Then Paris Poston got on base after being hit in the helmet by the Cedartown pitcher, advanced on the base path through walks, then scored the winning run on a RBI single by Aliza Baker, giving the Blue a 5-4 lead.

Ellie Gillis added an insurance run by scoring on a wild pitch with Emily Collum batting.

"Today we just fought back," Gillis said. "This is an all-star team, made up of recreational league players, and coming from behind like this is something you don't know will happen until they do it. We've played just three games together and we're still trying to find out what works. They are playing well together, though."

He said another key to the team's success has been the pitching of Jordan.

The coach said Jordan pitched earlier Saturday in Bartow Blue's defeat of Bartow White and was used in relief in the afternoon game, adding she shut the door on scoring during her stint.

"She really stepped up for us and did her job," Gillis said.

He said the Blue defense also has been a major component of the team's success.

"We had some passed balls but we have played solid defense out in the field," he added.

Gillis said the Blue will be playing Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hamilton Crossing.

After the Blue qualified for the championship game, Gillis asked all the members of the team to sign a softball that was used Thursday night in the team's first tournament game in which Jordan -- who has earned all three of the team's victories in the championship tournament-- pitched a perfect game.

That outing came against Rome and was won 21-0 by the Bartow squad.

"I can tell you that a perfect game is rare at any level of ball you play, whether it's fastpitch softball or Major League baseball," Gillis told the squad members. "You are lucky to be a part of something like that."

In other games played Saturday, the Bartow White defeated Rome 16-2 and the Cedartown Hot Dogs overwhelmed Rockmart 24-8.

Bartow White and the two Cedartown teams now will battle it out to determine who meets Blue on Tuesday night for the district championship.

The championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday with an 8 p.m. game tentatively scheduled in the event it is needed.