The Birches completed a sweep of East Stroudsburg in the first round of the NorCo Legion playoffs Thursday by posting a 5-3 victory.

The winners snapped a 3-3 tie with a pair of runs in the sixth inning, allowing them to complete their best-of-three series.The Birches, seeded fourth, will now face top-seeded Hellertown in the second round. Hellertown also posted a 2-0 sweep of B&M Provisions.Matt Pierce delivered the biggest hit of the contest, as his two-run single in the sixth accounted for the go-ahead runs.Luke Hohenstein went the distance on the mound, striking out four, while also going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.Kyle Cavanaugh went 2-for-3 and Marshall Hanyon drove in a run and had a double. Brent Beck and Ben Smiley also collected doubles.The Birches, who won the opening game on a walk-off RBI hit by Joe Denny, improved their record to 14-6.Birches 000 300 2 - 5 9 1Eastburg 000 300 0 - 3 5 1Hohenstein and Hanyon; Gallagher and Yates. W - Hohenstein. L - Yates.