ALTOONA, Pa. -- Serra Catholic had just taken its best swing at Camp Hill, scoring three runs in the fifth inning and tying the game.

Serra coach Brian Dzurenda thought he saw Camp Hill's legs wobbling.

"I'm coaching third base, and they're arguing some in their dugout," Dzurenda said. "I thought we had them on the ropes a little bit."

But champions generally do not turn the other cheek. Camp Hill waited until the final round to punch back.

Camp Hill scored four runs in the last inning, and the Lions retained their PIAA crown with a 7-3 victory against Serra in the Class A title game yesterday afternoon at Blair County Ballpark.

Serra (23-3), the WPIAL champion, lost for the third time this season. It was only the third time the Eagles gave up more than five runs in a game. Camp Hill (23-2) put itself in an elite class, becoming the fifth school to win back-to-back PIAA titles.

Senior Matt Spiegel was the star for Camp Hill, pitching all seven innings and also going 3 for 4 as a batter with four RBIs.

"I think this one means a little more this year," said Spiegel, who was the winning pitcher in the title game last year. "Just because there were a lot of people who said we couldn't repeat. We showed them."

Serra certainly was impressed.

"That was the best hitting team we faced all year, no doubt," Dzurenda said. "One through eight, I think they were a phenomenal hitting team. There was nobody to pitch around."

Camp Hill, located near Harrisburg, had only two losses this year to teams in Class AAA and AAAA.

The Lions scored 33 runs in four PIAA games and had 13 hits against Serra pitchers Oliver Girman and Brandon Sandusky. Nevertheless, Serra was able to pull even with three runs on five hits in the fifth.

Camp Hill scored a single run in the first on Spiegel's RBI single. The Lions added two more in the third on run-scoring singles from Spiegel and Tyler Shover.

In the Serra fifth, Tyler Kugler drove in the Eagles' first run with a single. Alain Girman's grounder scored another and Chris Miller's RBI single plated the third.

Spiegel retired Serra in order in the sixth.

"We really didn't panic when they tied it up," said Camp Hill coach Brad Shover. "In the seventh, I just said to them, 'Let's go win this thing,' and that's what they did. We've been swinging the bats all year, and that's what we did again today."

When Matt Robertson singled and L.K. Thompson doubled to start the seventh, Dzurenda relieved Girman with Sandusky. But Spiegel smacked Sandusky's second pitch for a two-run double, and that's all Camp Hill needed. Spiegel scored on an error to make it 6-3, and Neil Gallagher's RBI single closed out the scoring.

Spiegel, who finished 9-2, retired Serra in order in the bottom of the seventh. The loss dropped Oliver Girman's record to 9-2.

"I thought Oliver did a good job today," Dzurenda said. "Typically, he gives up eight or nine hits, and we make the plays behind him. But the balls they hit today were finding alleys and dodging our guys, if you will."

As a silver medal dangled from Dzurenda's neck, he found a silver lining. Serra didn't have a senior in its starting lineup.

"I'm disappointed, but I'm very optimistic for next year and the following year," Dzurenda said.