--FALMOUTH--With a 5-2 win over the Hyannis Mets in the third and decisive game of the Western Division Playoffs on Wednesday at Arnie Allen Diamond, the Falmouth Commodores advanced to the 2004 Championship Series and earned the right to pursue their first Cape League title since 1980.

Though Game 3 lacked the tension and drama of the first two games of the series, the Falmouth crowd of some 2,800 went home satisfied with the result. The Mets fell in the rubber game of the divisional playoffs for the second straight season, coming up short of the Arnold Mycock Championship Trophy in their third postseason appearance in five years.

The Commodores took their lead in the third inning and held onto at least a two-run cushion for the rest of the game. The four-run frame was highlighted by a towering three-run homer down the left field line by league MVP Dan Carte. The home run was Carte's second of the playoffs on the way to a 2-for-4 game.

Falmouth pushed across its first run with two outs and two men in scoring position, when Cliff Pennington tapped a slow bouncing grounder to second base. The ball took a sideways bounce and could not be fielded by Mets second baseman Joe Holland, and Pennington (2-for-2) made it safely to first base as Jacoby Ellsbury scored from third. But an awkward landing on the base caused Pennington to go down on the field and leave the game with a leg injury. No x-rays were needed, but his status for the championship series is in doubt.

Pennington's pinch runner, Kevin Roberts, scored on the Carte blast and filled in spectacularly for the remainder of the game at second base. In the ninth inning, his diving stop of a Mike Costantino ground ball and his three-hop throw from only a few inches above the ground exemplified a fantastic defensive effort put forth by the Commodores. An inning earlier, Roberts scored an insurance run for Falmouth after leading off with an infield single.

Each team could take pride in solid starting pitching, as had been anticipated from the start of the game. Falmouth's Phil Bartleski struck out six and walked one in 5 2/3 innings of work, leaving in the sixth inning after giving up his only run. He allowed six hits and threw 103 pitches, using a strong fastball to pitch well from behind. Joe Martinez pitched a commendable outing, nearly unhittable with the exception of the third inning. In seven innings, he struck out three and walked one while letting up six hits. Though Bartleski picked up the win and Martinez was saddled with the loss, the latter pitcher was far more economical, throwing just 83 pitches in 1 1/3 more innings.

The Mets got on the board in the sixth inning after Shane Robinson's third hit of the game, a single to left field. Robinson stole second and third over the course of the next two hitters, coming home on a single to the right of first base by Jay Miller. A Mike Costanzo single followed, and Miller went all the way to third base on the hit to short right field as Costanzo snuck up to second base on the throw. But the rally ended there as Bartleski forced a pop-up and reliever Brian Bogusevic notched a strikeout to escape the inning.

In the eighth inning, Hyannis had one more chance to close in after Mike Baxter led off with a single over the shortstop's head. He moved to second base on a passed ball and scored one pitch later on a Costanzo double over Ellsbury's head in left field. But Costanzo, again seeking an extra base on the throw ahead of him, was thrown out at third base by quick-thinking catcher Barry Gunther.

Shane Robinson finished 3-for-4 for the Mets, and Costanzo went 2-for-4. Pat Reilly and Chris Robinson also had singles for the Mets. None of Hyannis's nine hits came in the ninth inning, when Chris Leroux pitched a perfect frame to pick up his second save of the series for the Commodores.

Stats of note...including the playoffs, the Mets went 0-8-1 in games on the road following the All-Star Game on July 24; they made the postseason and forced a Game 3 with a 5-3 mark at home down the stretch...Costanzo led all hitters in the series by going 8-for-14 with a .600 on-base percentage; Shane Robinson trailed him with a 7-for-14 series and a .500 OBP...with six home runs in the series, all of which came in the first two games, the Mets hit half as many homers as they had hit in the entire regular season (12).