Haddonfield was down to its last out when Marco Rocco stepped to the plate Saturday night. The pitch came. Rocco blasted it over the left field fence with a full-circle crescendo to cap a week that brought this 12-year-old boy from the innocence of Little League baseball to a case study on sportsmanship and courtroom polarities.

A New Jersey judge was asked to overturn an umpire’s interpretation of the “horseplay” rule. A chance to play in the state championship hung in the balance.

Haddonfield, New Jersey Little League baseball player Marco Rocco was allowed to play Thursday night in his team's first state tournament game.