MINERSVILLE - Winning a fifth straight Russ Rothermel Tournament championship was an important objective for the North Schuylkill baseball team.
After a rough week, just winning a game - any game - was even more important for the Spartans.
North Schuylkill was able to accomplish both goals Saturday, defeating Shenandoah Valley 11-3 in the 22nd annual tournament championship game at Minersville.
Matt Smarkanic and C.J. Steinhilber each had two hits, Tom Gallagher had a key two-run single and the Spartans (5-2) capitalized on seven Shenandoah Valley errors to down the Blue Devils (2-4).
It was the Spartans' second victory of the day, as North Schuylkill rode the strong pitching of Tevin Murray to blank Mount Carmel 8-0 in a non-league game Saturday morning before coming to Minersville to face the Blue Devils.
The tournament is named after the former Minersville player and coach who pitched professionally for the Houston Astros before dying of cancer in 1988.
"It's important (to win the title). We've never lost in this tournament," said Smarkanic, a senior who picked up the pitching victory with five solid innings. "It's always good when you get a win, any way you get a win.
"Today was a long day of baseball. It was a good game by everybody."
North Schuylkill entered the weekend on the heels of a Schuylkill League Division I loss to Blue Mountain on Wednesday that dropped the Spartans to 2-2 in the division.
The Spartans also had to overcome with the loss of 2013 Republican-Herald All-Area Team Rookie of the Year Bobby Grigas to an arm injury that may require surgery and sideline the sophomore center fielder/pitcher for the rest of the season.
Grigas was at Saturday's game but not in uniform, sporting a sling that encased his left (throwing) shoulder and arm.
To stay in contention for a Schuylkill League playoff spot, the Spartans are going to need guys to replace both the offensive production and pitching ability that Grigas provided.
"We have to have guys step up," North Schuylkill coach Nick Brayford said. "Guys like Tevin Murray, now he bumps up to a higher slot in our pitching. Now he might get some of the bigger games that Grigas would have gotten."
Saturday's Rothermel final was sloppy on both sides, as the teams combined for 12 errors, left a total of 23 runners on base and threw 290 pitches - 163 in the first three innings.
After Shenandoah Valley took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, North Schuylkill took control with six runs in the second - all of which were unearned.
The Blue Devils made four of their seven errors in the frame, and should have been out of the inning without giving up a run. Gallagher's two-run single was the big blow in the rally, which gave North Schuylkill a 6-1 lead.
"We can not give a good team like North Schuylkill who can hit the ball very well extra outs," Shenandoah Valley coach Jeff Maksimik said. "That's what we did today.
"We have to make the routine plays. They're easy plays that we have to make to get us out of the 'snowball' inning. That's what happened in the second inning. We let an inning where we should have been out of it with no runs turn into six runs, all on routine plays."
Shenandoah Valley sliced the deficit to 6-3 with two runs in the third, but the Spartans added two in the third, one in the fourth and two more in the fifth to pull away.
Chris Burke, Steinhilber and Mark Antalosky delivered RBI singles for North Schuylkill.
"We're a little short-handed right now, and it was good to come out and get two wins today," Brayford said. "It helps get our kids back on track.
"We had a tough loss to Blue Mountain, and this gives them confidence. And it's all about confidence."