Schuylkill North needed to score all the runs it could against Punxsutawney in Friday's opening round of the VFW State Teener 13-14-year-old Tournament at Steidle Field.
Despite getting off to a good start with a four-run outburst in the top of the first inning and holding a steady lead throughout the game, Schuylkill North could never quite shake their opponents, holding off the Area 6 champions for an 11-7 victory.
With the win, Schuylkill North advances to the winners' bracket to play Hollidaysburg, a 6-5 winner over East Shore Stammel, at 1:30 p.m. today at Steidle Field.
Schuylkill North used a 13-hit attack to outslug Punxsutawney, scoring four runs in both the first and sixth innings.
The local team built an 11-5 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but needed to get out of a bases-loaded jam with nobody out to finally celebrate the win.
Punxsutawney tacked on two runs the final frame to make things interesting before Schuylkill North relief pitcher Josh Jacavage struck out Canaan Knox to end the threat.
"Our offense was clicking for sure," Schuylkill North manager Al Norris Sr. said. "If we can keep playing like this, we'll be alright. We have pitchers that just need to throw some strikes."
Schuylkill North struck quickly in the top of the first inning, taking a 4-0 lead when Bobby Wagner led off with a walk and scored on a triple by Richie Zahodnick.
Jacavage, Evan Kosar and Tyler McCole each followed with RBI singles.
Schuylkill North tacked on another run in the top of the second inning on an unusual play when Zahodnick, who reached on a single, scored on a sacrifice fly on a ball caught by the catcher near the first-base coaching box, leaving home plate uncovered.
Punxsutawney responded with a run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by Michael Greenblatt.
But Schuylkill North added two more runs to build a 7-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning on RBI singles by Al Norris Jr. and Mike Neary.
"We had the first-inning jitters and it cost us some runs," Punxsutawney manager Joe DiPietro said. "But we battled back and hit the ball well. This is the first time any of these guys played on the state level."
Down by six runs, Punxsutawney came back by scoring two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings to cut Schuylkill North's lead to 7-5, using two hits in both innings to take advantage of two Schuylkill North errors.
One of the runs scored when Schuylkill North relief pitcher Zahodnick was called for a balk, allowing Drew Maines to score from third base.
However, Punxsutawney errors at shortstop and left field in the top of the sixth inning sparked a four-run inning for Schuylkill North, which included RBI singles by Jacavage and Austin Dietz.