Schuylkill South third-base coach Wes Levan had only one thought on his mind.
As the ball left J.T. Hughes' bat and headed toward right field, Levan knew it might be the South's only chance to score off North reliever Bobby Grigas.
He was sending runner Kyle Emerich from second, no matter what.
The gamble paid off in a trip to the VFW State Teener Tournament.
Hughes' bloop single to right field in the top of the seventh inning plated Emerich with the winning run in the South's 2-1 victory over the North in Sunday's Area 2 Teener 15-16-year-old championship game at Steidle Field.
The victory advances Schuylkill South to the state tournament, to be held Aug. 2-5 in Bellefonte.
"I didn't know if he could score, but I was sending him regardless," Levan said. "I knew this was our shot, and we probably weren't going to get another one because Grigas is a great pitcher.
"I was willing him in the whole way down the third-base line. I had my mind made up. If we get a base hit, he was going.
"It's a game of inches, and it worked out for us."
Hughes' hit was the deciding blow in a thrilling, intense battle in front of a packed house at Steidle Field.
The South (6-1) finished with just three hits, scoring the game's first run in the fourth inning when Noah Saul singled, pinch-runner Dylan Brown moved to third on a throwing error and a wild pitch, and scored on Donald Legarht's safety squeeze bunt.
The North (5-2) tied it in the bottom of the sixth on Tevin Murray's RBI single.
The rest of the game belonged to the pitchers, as the South's Mike Ulsh stifled a potent North attack and the duo of Ian McCole and Grigas quieted the South bats.
Ulsh, a rising junior at Schuylkill Haven, allowed just five hits, struck out four and walked two in getting his second win over the North in the tournament.
The right-hander doesn't throw hard, but pitches to contact and lets his defense do the work behind him.
"I don't throw very hard, so I have to hit my spots. I thought I was doing that really well tonight," said Ulsh, who threw 102 pitches. "My defense plays great behind me, so that gives me the confidence to keep throwing my fastball knowing they'll make the plays behind me.
"They were popping a lot of stuff up. They were out in front of it."
The North threatened only twice. In the third, a walk and a single by Jordan Marlow put runners on second and third with one out. Ulsh buckled down, getting a pop-up and a groundout to keep the game scoreless.
In the sixth, Ulsh rebounded from Murray's game-tying hit by striking out pinch-hitter Jordan Dziczek with runners on the corners to end the inning.
"I figured he would like the high ones, so I tried to tempt him a little bit," Ulsh said. "I also threw outside, because I knew if he turned on one it wasn't going to be pretty. I kept it outside and struck him out."
McCole threw the first four frames for the North, escaping a bases-loaded, first-inning jam. He allowed two hits, walked five and struck out four.
Grigas took over in the fifth and was nearly lights out, retiring the first seven batters he faced, four by strikeout. Emerich, pinch-hitting for Dominic Piccioni, ended the streak by drawing a walk and stole second.
Grigas fanned Travis Hunyara for the second out, then got up 1-2 on Hughes.
"I choked up, moved back in the box and tried to put the ball in play," said Hughes, who will be a sophomore at Schuylkill Haven in the fall. "I had faced him in the regular season, and he struck me out twice. I was looking fastball.
"It got it off the end of my bat. I definitely thought the right fielder was going to get it. Somehow it dropped in between them."
Hughes' blooper landed between second baseman Ryan Hillbish and right fielder Murray. Murray fielded it on a hop, had to leap over a falling Hillbish, then fired a bullet to the plate. The throw was a little high, and Emerich slid under the tag to score the go-ahead run.
Ulsh retired the North in the bottom of the seventh inning to seal it.
"I thought that two runs wouldn't mean anything in the game," North manager John Chuma said. "I thought with the hitting power we had, we were going for 6-8 runs. Not tonight.
"The South has a very good defense, they don't make errors. Between Ulsh's pitching and their defense, they were good enough to beat us." Game Summary