ORWIGSBURG - Slow and methodical wasn't Pine Grove's plan to win Wednesday's Schuylkill-Berks Legion League first-round playoff game with top-seeded Southern Area.
It just so happened to work out that way.
After falling into an early two-run hole, the Grovers spent five innings nipping at the A's heels before putting together a three-run sixth inning to earn a 5-3 win at Allen Greenawalt Field.
Pine Grove (10-9) advances to play at Tamaqua - a 10-5 winner over Schuylkill Valley - in the second round of the double-elimination tournament today.
"I don't know if methodically was the way we planned on it, but baseball is a funny game," Grovers coach Frank D'Agostino III said. "You just do what you need to, play it and sometimes it turns out this way. Sometimes you put a bunch of runs up. Sometimes you don't put any up and you've got to grind it out for a whole game.
"This was a grind, but we played well and we did enough good things to win the game."
Southern Area (11-6) put two runs on the board in the first inning on an RBI groundout to score Brett Moore and a Sean Greenawalt double that plated Dean Stramara.
Stramara started the game on the mound for the A's, zipping through the first two innings. Pine Grove lead-off hitter Jed Blankenhorn reached on a two-out walk in the third inning before stealing second and scoring on Kobe D'Agostino's single to center to cut the deficit in half.
A throwing error on a fourth-inning single by Moore allowed the A's to go back ahead by two runs. Moore finished 3-for-4 with a double to lead Southern Area.
The Grovers responded with a run in the top of the fifth stemming from Steve Zimmerman's two-out single. Zimmerman, who finished 2-for-3, scored on a walk issued to Nick Cataldo.
"They struggled throwing strikes," D'Agostino said of the A's. "But that happens from time to time. You just have to take advantage of it if you can."
In the sixth, Pine Grove did take advantage of it.
Greenawalt came on to pitch in relief of Stramara to start the sixth and issued three walks, a fielder's choice and a single before getting lifted in favor of Shane Grapsy after a walk to Zimmerman scored a run.
Grapsy plunked Logan Levan to plate another run and Brian Reichert's groundout would set the final.
"(Greenawalt) had a tough time with control and we were sitting fastball because we knew if he couldn't throw fastball first strike, he wasn't going to throw curveball first strike," Zimmerman said.
"So we just sat fastball and if we had it, we were going to swing at it. But he never gave us a fastball first strike so we watched and took a base for free."
Pine Grove wasn't out of the woods just yet. Zimmerman came on to close out the game on the mound for the final two innings and got in trouble in the bottom of the sixth.
Southern Area loaded the bases after Mike Ulsh singled, Moore doubled and Grapsy walked. But a dropped strike three on Greenawalt forced Ulsh out at home and ended the inning.
"I had a tough time with control," Zimmerman said. "But then my coach Frankie (D'Angelo III) came out and we talked about it a little bit - taking control, taking deep breaths.
"After that, it was fine. I just stayed under control, didn't overthrow and threw strikes."
The A's went down in order in the seventh, sending them to the losers' bracket. There, they'll host Schuylkill Valley today.
"We just played lights out in the first half of the game and then the second half, the wheels fell off for us," Southern Area coach Jerry Friewald said. "We missed out on a couple close calls that we think should've went our way but they didn't.
"We didn't capitalize on bases loaded, so we have nobody to blame but ourselves for that."
Southern Area stranded 10 runners and left the bases loaded once. Pine Grove left the bases loaded in the fifth, sixth and seventh, stranding 14 runners in all.
But as was the case against Valley View in the divisional playoffs, the Grovers got across as many runs as were needed to get the win.
"I think the two games out at Valley View were huge for our confidence," D'Agostino said. "The way we hit the ball that second game was huge because that's where we were struggling the last few games of the regular season.
"Things are headed in the right direction, but we've got to keep it going. We're a long way away from when the tournament's over."
Tamaqua 10 Schuylkill Valley 5
TAMAQUA - Adam Bates went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, a run scored and a double to lift the Blue Sox to victory over the Falcons in a Schuylkill-Berks Legion League first-round playoff game.
Winning pitcher Matt Roberts struck out 10 while adding three RBIs from the plate. Derek Rottet also finished 3-for-4 for Tamaqua, scoring a run and driving in two more.
Bobby Grigas was 2-for-4 for Schuylkill Valley with two doubles. Jake Damiter went 2-for-4 as well, while Tom Gallagher and Jeff Yordy both homered.