Lehighton loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning during Friday's battle with Pleasant Valley, but came up empty.

The Indians loaded up the bases once more in the fourth inning, however, and took full advantage of their second big chance to put some runs on the board.Lehighton scored all four of their runs in that frame and held on to defeat Pleasant Valley by a 4-3 score."Runs have been a struggle for us and it's been the same thing over and over," said Lehighton head coach Brian Polaha. "In the first inning we had the bases loaded with one out and couldn't capitalize. And our big inning could have even been bigger."Lehighton's offensive woes weren't an issue thanks to starting pitcher Thatcher David's fantastic performance on the mound. David threw a complete game, scattering six hits and struck out seven."Thatcher gave us a big effort today and I knew he would keep us in the game," Polaha said. "He had his curveball working and he threw a ton of strikes. It was a tremendous outing and he really gutted it out."Pleasant Valley actually struck first with two runs in the top of the third inning, but it was only able to tag on one more run in the top of the sixth, which wasn't enough."We didn't do anywhere near enough to win this game," said Pleasant Valley baseball coach Charlie Inserra.Adam Rasley and James Shank were responsible for the two Pleasant Valley RBIs in the contest."You have to credit Lehighton's pitcher (Thatcher David)," the Bears' coach said. He didn't do anything to help us. He made us try and beat him and we didn't. David threw a ton of strikes and we weren't aggressive enough offensively."Inserra explained that at this point of the season you can't hesitate to make lineup and bullpen changes."We had to go to the bullpen as early as we did because these league games are critical. Every out and every run means so much. Thomas (Aruba) came in and did a very good job for us today on the mound."The Lehighton standout on offense was James Farano. He has done a little bit of everything for the Indians throughout the season. Farano got on base every time he stepped to the dish, drawing three walks and having a huge two-run double in the fourth inning.Polaha said, "We've had our opportunities and have been getting our guys in place against quality opponents; we just can't seem to find the big hit. Today was our first RBI hit in a while; we've been scoring off of sacrifices and errors. In the process, we lost a few close one run games."Both teams have a big week coming up as they are fighting for their district playoff lives.Inserra plans on sending a strong message to his club."I'm going to ask my team, 'What do you want to remember of this season? Are you content with letting the rest of the season play out, or do you want to make a run at this thing?' It's all about their attitude."Polaha and his senior ridden team knew this was a big win, and are looking forward to next week's challenge."It's great to get a quality MVC win over a rival. Districts mean a lot to these guys, especially the seniors who have a ton of pride. These kids are great and we always battle."Pleasant Vy. 002 001 0 - 3 6 1Lehighton 000 400 x - 4 6 1Domenici, Aruba (4) and Shank; David and Clements. W - David. L - Domenici.