POTTSVILLE - For Palmerton, yesterday's District 11 Class AAA quarterfinal against Pottsville was a big-time game with a big-league feel.

When the Blue Bombers pulled into Steidle Field at the 16th Street Complex, it marked Palmerton's first district playoff appearance in eight years for a team that eclipsed six wins for the first time since 2007.However, what awaited them was not only the top-seed in the tournament and the reigning Schuylkill League champion, but also a juggernaut that starts three Division 1 players, including one who will most likely be drafted in the first three rounds of Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft in a little over two weeks.Not intimidated, the Bombers fought valiantly for seven innings, but Pottsville just had too much firepower, as the Crimson Tide rolled to an 8-0 victory. The season-ending loss drops Palmerton to 10-11 on the year, in a campaign where the Bombers needed to win four of their last five games just to make the playoffs, including an extra-innings victory over Northern Lehigh in the season finale."We started out of the gates a little slow this year and we gave some games away early, but we kept stressing that we're better than what our record indicates," said Palmerton head coach Mike Svetik. "The kids bought into that and we ended up winning nine of our last 13 games to get to this point, which was a win in my book."Pottsville is a great team and we knew the odds were stacked against us today, but these kids were thrilled at the opportunity to play against them. On any given day, anybody can beat anybody, and I'd rather come here and be challenged by a team like Pottsville than be complacent against a less-talented team."Two Palmerton errors in the first inning allowed Penn State-commit Eli Nabholz to score the first run of the game and Pottsville proceeded to open the flood gates two innings later when the Crimson Tide plated five more runs, en route to a 6-0 lead in the third frame.With the bases loaded and no outs, Nabholz singled to center field to score Travis Blankenhorn and Ty Painter. The University of Kentucky-bound Blankenhorn is being courted by all 30 Major League Baseball teams and is currently a Top 100 prospect (No. 76) in the country according to Baseball America.Nabholz then came around to score on a Palmerton throwing error and Brandon Daubert followed by blasting his first career home run over the left field fence to give Pottsville a six-run cushion."These kids have nothing to be ashamed of today. We just had one bad inning," said Svetik. "I explained to them beforehand that we needed to play error-free and not give Pottsville extra at bats. Walks and errors hurt us in that third inning and then when we did manage to get runners on base, we couldn't get the key hit to bring them home."While Pottsville was busy scoring runs, Tide pitcher J.J. Spehrley was busy keeping Palmerton's bats in check. Spehrley threw a complete-game shutout, while striking out a career-high 10 batters."We always emphasize trying to get that first run across and playing with a lead," said Pottsville head coach Mike Welsh. "We were able to score in the first inning, get some breathing room with a few runs in the third, and then J.J. (Spehrley) was just on cruise control for the rest of the game. He was around the strike zone all day and he was always getting ahead of hitters."Pottsville added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings with Daubert lacing an RBI-single to center field to score Nabholz and Erik Wapinsky scoring on a Palmerton fielding error (the Bombers fourth of the game).Nabholz led Pottsville (19-4) with three hits, two runs and two RBI, while Daubert accounted for three hits and three RBI including the two-run homer in the pivotal third frame.Palmerton's lone extra base hit was a double by Toby Sander in the sixth inning.With the win, Pottsville will meet Tamaqua in Saturday's District 11 Class AAA semifinal at 2:45 p.m. at Blue Mountain High School."Between baseball and basketball, our kids have gotten to know Tamaqua well and they've gotten to know us well," said Welsh. "This will be our third time seeing them this year and it's going to be very tough game. We never like to play them, but we're happy to have the opportunity to play them."Palmerton 000 000 0 - 0 4 4Pottsville 105 011 x - 8 10 0Weber, Svetik (4) and Mooney, George (5); Spehrley and C. Hinchliffe. W - Spehrley. L - Weber. HR: Pottsville - Daubert (3rd, one on).