The Rockmart All-Star 9 and 10 girls fastpitch softball team defeated the Rome Heat Saturday night in Rockmart to win the GRPA District 5 2012 State Championship.

Rockmart dispatched Rome 7-2 in six innnings.

The game was scheduled to be held in Calhoun Saturday, but was relocated to Rockmart due to wet field conditions. Rockmart also is hosting the 9 and 10 boys state baseball championship, which began Saturday morning and is scheduled to end next Friday.

Rockmart Recreation Director Jeff Hulsey agreed to host the softball tournament when contacted early Saturday.

In addition to Rockmart and Rome, other teams competing in the tournament were from Trion, Murray County, Calhoun, Paulding County and Dalton.

Rockmart defeated Calhoun in the winners bracket, held at 3 p.m., thus moving on to the finals. While that game was going on, the Rome Heat was taking on the Paulding County team on an adjacent field to decide the losers bracket. Rome won and moved on to combat Calhoun at 6 p.m. Saturday to decide the final spot in the finals against Rockmart.

The final game was scheduled for 8 p.m. but was delayed about half an hour due to lightning.

Rockmart needed just one win to clinch the title. Had Rome won, the teams would have returned Sunday afternoon as Rome needed two wins to take the title.

Rome briefly led, 2-1, in the second inning. But a series of good hits and a stolen base put Rocmkart up 3 runs, 5-2, during the fifth inning. Rockmart then held Rome to a third-base hit, ending the inning at 5-2.

Rockmart managed two more runs at bat in the sixth inning, then quickly struck out Rome's batters to end the game, 7-2.