The Moon Township Little League team has gone somewhere no Allegheny County team has gone in the past 17 years and is one six-team tournament away from advancing to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

With a two-game sweep against Media Friday and Saturday in Scranton, Moon captured the Pennsylvania State Little League title and a bid to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament in Bristol, Conn.

It was the first Little League state title for an Allegheny County team since Ingomar National won it in 1992.

Moon will check in at the Mid-Atlantic Tournament today and begin pool play Saturday with a game against Somerset Hills, the New Jersey state champions, at 2 p.m.

In pool play, all six teams compete in four games with the top four advancing to a single-elimination tournament.

Though there is room for error in pool play and double-elimination formats, Moon has yet to lose in 14 games on its way to Bristol while outscoring its opponents, 115-28. Moon has relied on the long ball most of the summer, belting 33 home runs in 14 games, including 26 in its past eight.

"We want to play on ESPN," Moon left fielder Kyle Bondi said. "It's every kid's dream to do that."

The majority of that power has come from Marco DeBlassio (.513, 9 HRs and 24 RBIs), Josh Bogats (.512 and 6 HRs) and Mason Prickett (6 HRs and 18 RBIs).

DeBlassio and Bogats along with Matt Capo also have anchored a Moon pitching rotation that boasts a team ERA of 2.66 and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 99 to 18. DeBlassio leads the team with 43 strikeouts, and the three pitchers have combined to throw six complete games.

After the opening game Saturday, Moon will face Northwest Washington, the representative from the District of Columbia, at 11 a.m. Sunday.

After a day off Monday, Moon faces M-O-T from Delaware at 2 p.m. Tuesday and then Conococheague from Maryland at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The semifinals of the Mid-Atlantic Tournament will be Aug. 13-14, and the championship game will be aired live at 8 p.m. Aug. 17 on ESPN2.