QUAKERTOWN - One aspect has remained consistent for Quakertown this season.

Pitching.The Blue Jays led the Bux-Mont Legion League in runs against this season. Tuesday night in the Region 2 playoffs, starting pitcher Devyn Bard added to Quakertown's impressive numbers.Bard tossed seven innings of one-run ball, while striking out four during a 13-1 mercy-rule shortened victory over Northern Valley."Pitching has picked us up all year long," explained Quakertown manager Bob Helm. "A lot of times our problem has been getting enough runs. Kids are getting comfortable with their swings and they're starting to click at the right time."Helm received more than he expected from his offense when the Blue Jays plated seven runners in the second inning. His left fielder, Viktor Morelock, was 4-for-4 with four RBIs. Matthew Bukevich also supplied four hits and a trio of runs, as Quakertown piled on 17 hits throughout the game and took a commanding 10-1 lead after three frames."I don't really think about it," Bard noted of pitching with a big lead. "The energy just feels great. If we have nine runs on the board, I can feel it when I'm on the mound. I don't look at the scoreboard much, it's always a 0-0 game to me and I just have to keep them off of the board."Although Northern Valley scored its lone run in the second inning, it left the bases full of runners. Already trailing by eight runs at that point, the Chargers needed to cash in, but Bard limited the damage."You can't really hang your head," said Northern Valley head coach Brad Rauch. "You're disappointed because you lost, but you can't be disappointed that we're one of four teams left playing in the region. We came out and gave it our all the entire season."The Chargers' loudest hit of the game was a rope into the left-center field gap by Evan Meixsell in the fourth inning. He ended up sliding into third with a triple. But once again, Bard wasn't fazed and Meixsell was stranded on third base when the inning was over.Nico Fager relieved John Taylor in the second for Northern Valley, and kept the Blue Jays scoreless during innings four through six."Coming down here today, I knew our pitching was going to be limited," Rauch said. "Guys were tired. They (Quakertown) hit the ball one inning, and we had some costly errors, and you'll have days like today. Quakertown is a good team and they deserve to be going to the championship."Northern Valley looked fatigued as it committed one of its four errors in the top of the seventh.Bukavich hit a routine base-hit into the outfield with runners on first and second. However, the ball trickled under a Northern Valley outfielder's glove and rolled to the fence, allowing both base runners and Bukavich to score and extend the lead to 13-1."A few weeks ago, I didn't think that I would be standing here getting interviewed in a regional tournament," Rauch said. "I'm glad Northern Valley is back on top. It was nice to get these guys here. I'm proud of them and they have nothing to hang their head about."I have a lot of guys with a lot of heart with great character. It's going to be sad to see some of these guys go. There are senior guys on this team that put together a year that carried this team, and always put us in position to win. I can't say enough about these guys."RARE FINISH … Northern Valley looked to extend the game in the bottom of the seventh, with runners on first and second and nobody out. However, Brian Robinson flew into a 9-3-6 triple play. Check out the Times News Sports Facebook and Twitter pages to see footage from the final play.SLOW START, STRONG FINISH … Northern Valley won just two of its first seven games this year, but closed out the year with a record of 14-7 over its final 21 contests.Quakertown 271 000 3 - 13 17 4Northern Vy. 010 000 0 - 1 6 4Bard and Guidos; Taylor, Fager (2) and Kistler. W - Bard. L - Taylor.