ORWIGSBURG - As a pitcher, Travis Blankenhorn knows how important run support can be.
He and his Crimson Tide teammates wasted little time putting runs on the board their 8-1 win over Blue Mountain in Monday's Schuylkill League Division I game at Allen Greenawalt Field.
Blankenhorn drove in Ty Painter with an RBI single in the first inning and Pottsville never looked back.
"We came into the game knowing we had to get to a more upbeat tempo," Blankenhorn said. "We did that today and got a couple runs early."
Blankenhorn finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored.
"We come into every game expecting to have a big offensive game," Blankenhorn added. "Today we did that, and we're happy about it."
Eli Nabholz was definitely happy about it, too. Getting the start on the mound for the Tide, Nabholz picked up his first win since April 10.
"I didn't have a lot of strikeouts today, but I wanted to come and throw strikes, compete and give my team a chance to win," Nabholz said. "We did that today and they made a lot of great plays for me.
"It's phenomenal, especially when you can go out and pound the zone," Nabholz continued. "You can just throw strikes and let them make plays for you."
Nabholz cruised through the first two innings before Dean Stramara tripled to lead off the Blue Mountain half of the third inning, eventually scoring the Eagles' lone run on Dave Kyslinger's sacrifice fly two batters later.
Despite having just three strikeouts, Nabholz had little difficulty getting through the Blue Mountain lineup.
"He hasn't pitched in a little bit, so he came out here and threw strikes," Pottsville coach Mike Welsh said. "That's what it's about. It's a team game. You let your defense do what they're supposed to do and they did a heck of a job behind him."
Pottsville's wasted no time adding to its early lead. Nabholz led off the second inning with a walk off Eagles starter Shane Grapsy. He advanced to second when Brandon Daubert's sacrifice bunt attempt was picked up by Grapsy, who, with hopes of retiring Nabholz, tossed the ball into center field.
John Toomey was hit by a pitch before Connor Hinchliffe delivered an RBI infield single that bounced back off Grapsy. Darian Jacoby drove in Daubert with a fielder's choice in the next at-bat to make it 3-0.
"It's those little moments in the game that can make or break the game," Welsh said. "In that situation, instead of having the lead runner out, we had first and second. ... Then they hit Toomey and the bases are loaded. We were able to do just enough to make it three (runs)."
For Blue Mountain coach Tom Kramer, there was no question the throw to second was the right decision.
"We work on that - we let the catcher make that call," Kramer said. "He thought we had a play at second, which it looked like we did from the dugout.
"It gave them the momentum," Kramer added. "It wasn't a gamble play. I think it was there, we just ... the ball sailed and everybody was safe."
The third inning was no different. Painter led off the inning with a walk and was followed by Blankenhorn's first double. Mike Kuperavage hit a two-run single to the right-field corner to make it 5-0 before there were any outs in the third.
"We didn't go away early," Welsh said. "That was the critical thing. We kept coming and scoring extra runs, extending the lead."
The runs continued in the fourth off new pitcher Stramara. Toomey reached on a single and advanced to third base on sacrifices by Dan Doyle and Hinchliffe before Jacoby scored him on an RBI single. After a Painter single, Blankenhorn plated two with his second double to set the final.
Blankenhorn relieved Nabholz in the fifth inning, allowing one hit and striking out five.
The win allows Pottsville to cling to a half-game lead over Tamaqua in the divisional standings. The Blue Raiders were 10-3 winners over Jim Thorpe on Monday.
"It's always good beating Blue Mountain," Nabholz said. "We've had some very tough games with them in the past. Today, it wasn't an easy game, but we did what we were supposed to do. We won, and it definitely helps out the standings.