REYNOLDSVILLE — There was no debating where the 2025 season ranked in the proud history of the Federation League.

Just above rock bottom as two of the just three teams that started the schedule managed the finish the season.

Certainly, all involved agreed that it was still better than nothing as the Sykesville Senators and Brookville Grays locked up in a competitive best-of-seven series won in five games by the Senators, who got a title-clinching walk-off two-run home run from Garrett Prosper with no outs in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Grays 4-2 at the Reynoldsville Senior Little League Field Tuesday night.

Riding effective pitching from left-hander Ezra Swanson, the Grays took a 2-0 lead into the fourth before the Senators scored runs in the fourth and fifth to tie it up. Then in the bottom of the seventh with the score tied at 2-2, Jake Felix led off with a single. Isaac Knarr ran for Felix, then got to jog around the bases when Prosper lifted Grays reliever Drew Beichner’s first pitch high and over the right-field fence to end the season.

“I came up hoping Jake was going to get on and he did and he had a nice swing and I was just looking for a pitch to drive,” Prosper said. “I got one early and executed a good swing on it.”

Prosper gave a quick bat flip, jogged around the bases with his head down, then jumped on home plate as he was mobbed by his teammates. It’s the Senators’ first title since they finished a five-year championship run from 2012 through 2016. They were swept the past two finals by Rossiter and lost six games to the DuBois Rockets in 2018.

“We have a super-deep team,” said Prosper, a 2019 DuBois Central graduate who attended and played at Pitt-Johnstown, graduating last year. “There was a ton of talent here and we got arms, good bats and a lot of young guys that I’m excited to follow as they go through college. It was a team effort all around. We swung the bats pretty well through the whole series and played good defense and pitched well. That’s why we’re here right now.”

Prosper was the series Most Valuable Player, batting .556 (5-for-9) with three sacrifice flies, three walks, two home runs and 12 runs batted in as he played in four of the five games.

Senators manager Paul Roman said this was his 50th season in the Fed League, but clearly the toughest from his view as league president. As the manager, he knew he had a deeper roster and more options in five games played over eight days. The Senators won 7-6 and 13-0 before the Grays notched a 12-11 game three victory. Then the Senators took the final two 8-3 and then 4-2.

“It was a good series. Brookville played tough,” Roman said. “I think probably the bottom line was we had more pitching. I had two other pitchers ready tonight, but I couldn’t get Dan (Wascovich) off the mound. He threw 23 pitches the last three innings.”

Wascovich had a forgettable outing in Sunday’s 12-11 loss as he gave up six runs and nine hits in 1 1/3 innings on his home mound. It was much different Tuesday as he gave up all three hits in the Grays’ two-run second. After Jesse Siwiecki’s two-out, two-run double, Wascovich retired 16 of the final 18 batters, including the last 11 as he filled up the strike zone in what was a 73-pitch outing.

“It was a huge difference,” Wascovich said, comparing his outing from Sunday. “I didn’t have the footing and quite honestly, it really disrupted me and it actually got to my nerves. I was a little angry about that, but I didn’t feel I had the ability to perform my best. I just came into (tonight) with a different mindset, no matter what was in front of me and overcome the obstacles and pitch the best game I could to keep my team within striking distance.”

As per Roman, for Wascovich it was the fifth time out of those six championships that he was on the mound for the clinching win. Tuesday was the first time at home.

Wascovich’s effort allowed the Senators to hang around and win the game in dramatic style. Prosper walked and scored in the fourth when Damon Foster reached on an infield error. Then in the fifth, Prosper’s sacrifice fly brought home Aiden Snowberger, who led off the inning with a single, to tie the game at 2-2.

Wascovich wound up striking out two and walking none while hitting Owen Caylor with a pitch in the fourth for the Grays’ lone base runner after the second.

“Nothing was falling and we started pressing and then we started chasing when he was dotting on the corners and he likes to live on the black,” the Grays’ Beichner said. “So then we started forcing it once we weren’t getting stuff to go our away. (Wascovich) pitched great today.”

All involved hope next year’s Federation League season happens, and with more teams of course, led by Roman.

“We’re probably going to have to give up a few players to do that and with some of the kids who are going to college, I don’t know if I’ll see those kids again. If they’re here, they’ll play,” he said. “I’m going to work as a league president to get a team or two. My goals, not necessarily in order, are DuBois, Clarion, St. Marys/Kersey and Clearfield. I can’t say I’ll start tomorrow, but I’ll start pretty soon.”

“It’s just important that guys take pride in playing ball around their home town,” Prosper said. “There’s no better feeling. It’s stress-free, pressure-free baseball and you just get to come out and have a good time. The key is to get those guys back 100 percent. We’re definitely trying to do that, getting some younger guys to come back. We’ve always done a good job here with the Senators getting young guys … and it’s going to be really important for us next year.”