Eleven-and-oh and the engine is still purring without a misfire.

Tamaqua's sudden rise atop the Schuylkill Softball League shouldn't be taken for granted; and to be sure it will not be ignored henceforth.The Lady Blue Raiders continued their gleeful ways on Tuesday, as the afternoon sunset turned into an evening of tight softball. Tamaqua held off a stubborn North Schuylkill squad en route to an impressive 3-2 Schuylkill League victory.Yesterday's battle went through a series of ups and downs on both accounts. Yet in the end, sophomore hurler Jada Schellhammer managed to outduel North Schuylkill junior Haley Burd."I've got a really great defense behind me, so I know they're going to make plays, and that kind of makes my job a little easier," said Schellhammer who moved over from third base to the circle this season.Schellhammer spun a nifty four-hitter, allowing six hits and walking two. By no means was Schellhammer taking things for granted. She had to find a way to keep leadoff hitter Danielle Holmes in check after the freshman had buried a pair of doubles in her first two at bats, and scored when teammate Schuyler Ossman singled for a 1-0 lead.And later in the game, Holmes was back at it with her second double, this time driving in the go-ahead run in the top of the third. When Holmes came up for her third time, Schellhammer was determined to keep her off the basepaths."She's a tough hitter," explained Schellhammer. "I wasn't going to let her burn me a third time."This time, pitching coach Knoblauch called for an off-speed pitch."I looked over at the bench and coach called the pitch," said Schellhammer's catcher Brooke Zellner. "It was an off-speed pitch."And Holmes dribbled it back to Schellhammer who made the soft toss to first ending the fifth inning, which kept the Spartans' most dangerous hitter off the bases."They made plays when they had to," said North Schuylkill skipper Dominic Grasso. "That's a good team, they showed it today."Tamaqua worked its way back in the bottom of the initial inning after trailing 1-0. Zellner hustled her way to first after a swinging strikeout, which went for a wild pitch and she advanced to second on another wild pitch. Cailyn Joseph worked a full-count walk and both runners advance on steals, before Schellhammer singled home the tying run and an error on the play allowed Joseph to cross home for a 2-1 lead."We're battling right now and doing all the right things," smiled winning manager Jillian Barron. "You do the little things, and the big things take care of themselves."True. And Courtney Hoffman does the little things as well as any one player. She fueled a third-inning run, after the visitors tied the game on a Holmes RBI-double. Hoffman laid down a perfect bunt to lead off the third, was bunted over to second by Zellner, and scooted to third on a steal."I was watching (the pitcher) and I got a pretty good jump," said Hoffman.Hoffman's work on the bases set up a two-out go-ahead single by Joseph.The rest was up to Schellhammer."I'm very comfortable with the ball in her hand," said Barron. "When she's throwing strikes, she's on and tough to hit."So too are the Raiders, who climb to the top of Division I and get set for another donnybrook when Blue Mountain comes in Thursday before a trip to Pine Grove."It's a big week, so far, so good," grinned Barron.THROWING SEEDS ... Both pitchers were effective and efficient. Although Burd took the loss, she was right-on, tossing 64 strikes and only 24 balls. She allowed six hits, fanned nine, and walked two. Shellhammer was just as impressive, tossing 56 strikes and 23 balls.GETTING IT DONE ... Tamaqua's Jane Kupchinsky collected a double and single. Miranda Chincher also had a pair of hits and an RBI.North Schuylkill 101 000 0 - 2 4 2Tamaqua 201 000 x - 3 6 0Burd and Marlow; Shellhammer and Zellner. W - Shellhammer L - Burd.