The Cartersville 11- to 12-year-old "A" team must have known its district championship hopes would come down to a fight with Rockmart because after watching a well-padded lead shrink to one run on Saturday, the Canes responded as if they expected Rockmart to rally all along.

The Canes answered that rally with a nine-run fifth inning to grab the Little League Georgia District 1 championship at Cedartown's Bert Wood Athletic Complex.

Holding onto a 4-3 lead, Cartersville's Jacob Woods hit a two-run home run to center field -- which scored Bret Phinney -- to push the Canes' lead to three runs.

Joe Jolly followed his teammate with a solo home run slightly to the left of where Woods' home run traveled.

Cartersville was just getting started as Parker Tidwell added a two-run single and Boo Reed -- who scorched a one-hopper to the left-field wall -- Phinney, Woods and Jolly (ground-rule double) drove in consecutive run-scoring hits.

The Canes led 13-3 after the top half of the inning and once Woods retired Rockmart's batters in order to end the fifth inning -- which ended the game per the Little League 10-run mercy rule -- Cartersville had its district title, a year after its 11-year-olds lost to most of the same Rockmart players.

"They never gave up on themselves, even when they were down," said coach Jeff Osborn, whose team rallied to beat Rockmart, 12-11, on a walkoff two-run home run by Hayden Siniard in pool play Thursday and again Friday when it rallied from three runs down to win, 13-12, in the championship series opener.

"That is the key," Osborn added of his team's ability to come from behind. "Being able to work through (a deficit) and overcome it is probably the biggest (reason we won the title)."

Cartersville didn't need a rally Saturday afternoon as the Canes got out to an early 4-0 lead.

After two scoreless innings, Rockmart's Wesley Ragsdale made his only real mistake of the game at that point when he left a pitch up for Woods, who pulled the ball toward the right-field fence for a grand slam.

Trenton Frazier and Reed both singled and Phinney walked to load the bases prior to Woods' at-bat.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Rockmart got a few runs back on the board when the Canes committed a few errors and allowed a couple of hits to score three runs, which included an RBI single by Ragsdale.

Osborn said his team bickers at times, like any other team, but that doesn't last long as players tend to band together.

"We win as a team and we lose as a team," he said. "It was a team win."

Woods pitched five innings for Cartersville in the win, giving up an earned run, three hits and three walks while striking out three batters.

At the plate, Dustin Hanks went 1-for-3 for the Canes; Frazier went 3-for-3 and was hit by a pitch; Reed went 2-for-4 with an RBI; Phinney went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks; Woods went 3-for-3 with seven RBIs and was hit by a pitch; Jolly went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a double; Grant Tidwell went 1-for-2 with a walk; and Parker Tidwell went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.

Throughout the tournament, Cartersville displayed its ability to win with the long ball as eight of its starters -- Hanks, Frazier, Reed, Phinney, Woods, Jolly, Siniard and Grant Tidwell -- homered during the week, but Osborn said his team could win with small ball, too.

Asked about the difference for this year's team Osborn, who coached another team last summer, said: "They're having fun this year ... they're working together as a team."