BANGOR - In the baseball playoff atmosphere, each hit, each play, and each moment counts. Each mental lapse and ounce of effort can affect the game's outcome.

In the Colonial League quarterfinal clash Monday between No. 3 seed Bangor and sixth-seeded Palmerton, there were plenty of crucial moments.However, the defending league champion Slaters made the most of their moments by defeating the Bombers, 5-1. Bangor will move on to the semifinals against Notre Dame of Green Pond at Parkland today at 4 p.m.In the bottom of the first frame, a line drive to right field landed inches in front of an outstretched glove, as senior Drew Kluska's RBI triple gave Bangor early momentum. John Raub's RBI single ensued for the early 2-0 Slaters lead."All season long, we talk about timely hitting, and when you get in those positions, you gotta focus and lock in," Bangor head coach Greg Hartman said."It was a very close game and well played on both sides. We expected nothing less than that from Palmerton today."The Blue Bombers responded in the top of the third frame with a run of their own, as Jared Mooney lined an RBI single to cut the deficit in half.Seniors Garrett Perschy and Landon Labar drew the starts on the hill for both sides, and managed to keep things nip-and-tuck throughout a majority of the contest.However, the Slaters padded their lead in the bottom of the fifth, when a Bomber error gave way to an insurance run."For a team like us, who has been struggling to get runs, that definitely wasn't the best way to start a ballgame," Palmerton head coach Mike Svetik said after the game. "But we battled and we had opportunities."Bryan Beam entered in relief for Bangor in the sixth and had back-to-back '1-2-3' innings to close out the Bombers' chances at coming back.Palmerton will now have some time off before the beginning of District 11 action next week."Now, we do what we did last year, as we're out of the league playoffs in the first round. So we regroup, look at it as we are 0-0; we put this game and everything else behind us," Svetik said."I think this group can do some good things and possibly make another run."CLOSE CALLS ... A handful of calls late in the contest went in favor of the Slaters, as consecutive grounders allowed close plays at first base. However, the runners were called out, and officially ending the comeback.BY THE NUMBERS ... The Slaters produced five hits in the game, while the Bombers had four. However, Palmerton's three errors were at inopportune times. Perschy finished with the loss, walking five and fanning four, while Labar struck out three, walked two, and also hit a batter.Palmerton 001 000 0 - 1 4 3Bangor 200 012 x - 5 4 1Perschy, Mooney (6) and Burnett; Labar, Beam (6) and Caserta. W - Labar. L - Perschy.