Led by a dominant pitching performance and an opportunistic offense, Pleasant Valley cruised to an 8-0 non-league win over Lehighton on Saturday.

Travis VanHouten went the distance on the mound for the Bears (8-7), striking out 11 while not allowing a hit until the seventh inning."Travis has been as consistent as you could possibly ask a senior to be," said Pleasant Valley head coach Charlie Inserra. "He's pitched in some of our biggest games…and he's just been fantastic for us all year long."And his performance today on the mound is exactly the kind of player he is consistent and steady, just getting strike one and strike two. Nothing overpowering, but just constantly working around the strike zone and giving us a chance to win."VanHouten didn't allow a base runner until the fifth inning, when Hunter Greene drew a leadoff walk, and was able to keep the Indians (3-9) out of sync from the outset."I was able to use my curveball today," VanHouten said. "Coach did a great job calling the pitches and we were able to keep them off balance."And it helped that I was able to throw strikes and get ahead in the count."The Pleasant Valley offense took the pressure off VanHouten early, opening up a 4-0 lead in the second inning.The outburst included singles from Brett Hardy, Eric Bond and Tyler Martin. The Bears were also able to take advantage of several Lehighton miscues in the field while also capitalizing on aggressive base running."With the runs we put up today, all we did was limit our strikeouts, put the ball in play and make the other team field the ball," Inserra said. "And that's what we need to do make the other team make all 21 outs."Of Pleasant Valley's eight hits in the game, none went for extra bases. But six different players scored runs, highlighting what Inserra is looking for out of his squad."The fact that we were able to start our rallies and our scoring with very ordinary things is what stands out to me," he said. "We started with some very basic things, and before you know it, you get a big hit and score two runs and now the game starts to open up a little bit."But it all starts with very simple things, and that's the name of the game for us."While the Bears got contributions from throughout the lineup, sophomore Hardy did the most damage, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. VanHouten added two hits while also scoring a run. Martin finished 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored.Lehighton's chances were few, but the Indians did put runners in scoring position in both the fifth and seventh innings.Following Greene's leadoff walk in the fifth, VanHouten issued a one out free pass to Jordan Knappenberger. But a double play negated the opportunity and ended the inning.Frank Bokan started the seventh with a single for Lehighton's first hit of the game. Brady Niehoff followed two batters later with another single.But VanHouten settled down, striking out Knappenberger to end the game."We're struggling to hit right now, but we're seeing good pitching," said Lehighton head coach Brian Polaha. "But we just have to stay positive, keep working and control what we can control."Sometimes we're overmatched at the plate, and that is what it is. But the physical errors and mental errors are what we have to limit."Pleasant Vy. 040 010 3 - 8 8 0Lehighton 000 000 0 - 0 2 2VanHouten and Pandolfo; Cordova, Niehoff (4), Scherer (6), Heery (7) and Wagner. W - VanHouten. L - Cordova.