POTTSVILLE - They called it a priority. They called it a goal. They called it a mission.

Now, they can call it a championship.Marian baseball coach Tony Radocha and his players used all of those words to describe their pursuit of the school's first District 11 title since 2001.The Colts captured that championship with a 7-0 victory over Tri-Valley Monday afternoon.For a Marian program that has enjoyed as much regular season success as almost anyone in the entire district over the last decade-and-a-half, racking up a double-digit victory total and qualifying for the postseason wasn't going to be enough.This time, there needed to be more."It's been 15 years for the program and four years for some of these kids," said Radocha. "We talked about what we wanted to accomplish this season, and winning championships was an important part of that."I'm elated, humbled and honored to be the coach of this group of kids and to be part of this championship. We've been on a mission and I don't think anyone on this team is ready for it to end."Dante Salerno was one of the players that waited four years for the district championship. Salerno said the last 24 hours of that wait might have been the worst."We were all so ready to play this game," Salerno said. "Personally, I couldn't wait. We were up at the school early for batting practice and I was just counting down the time until we started."Once the game did start, Salerno was the catalyst for the Marian offense. The senior shortstop and leadoff batter was on base four times, scoring two runs and knocking in two more."Last year, we won 18 games and had nothing to show for it," said Salerno. "This year, we wanted championships."Our goal from the beginning of the season has been league, district and state championships. That's our 'triple crown' and I was just trying to do everything in my power to make sure we kept that goal alive."Daniel Keer also had a huge game for the Colts - something that has become commonplace during the season. On a team loaded with offensive weapons, Keer has found a way to stand out.He entered the game leading Marian in batting average (.467), RBIs (40), home runs (four) and extra base hits (15). Yesterday, he was a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBIs, pushing his batting average to within a few points of .500 for the season.But Keer wasn't thinking about his big game or gaudy offensive numbers following the contest. He was focused on the big picture."All season long, no one cared about personal stats or what they were doing individually. It was all about becoming a better team," said Keer. "We wanted to be the best team we could be."We also made it a priority to not be satisfied with a good regular season. The regular season was about earning a good seed for districts and making sure that we were peaking when we got here."The Colts appear to be doing just that."We've been playing really good baseball the last three weeks," said Radocha. "We've been getting great pitching, we've been hitting the ball well, and we're playing very good defense."You want to be playing your best ball of the year at this time of the season and I think we are definitely doing that."And according to both Keer and Salerno, the Colts aren't satisfied yet."This is such a great feeling," said Keer. "We worked hard for this and we are going to enjoy it. But we also know that there is one more goal out there and we're not finished yet."Salerno added, "Schuylkill League and District 11 championships in the same year is incredible. But the state championship is still out there."We're two-thirds of the way to our 'triple crown' so we'll get right back to practice this week and refocus on that final goal."