ORWIGSBURG - One can't always assume a winner and a loser based on what the box score looks like after a baseball game.

Tri-Valley's side of the sheet was full of strikeouts in its District 11 Class A semifinals match against Marian. Colts' pitchers Joe Nahas and Dante Salerno combined to strikeout 14 of the 18 Tri-Valley hitters.Some sloppy Marian fielding and one swing of Hunter Herb's bat helped propel Tri-Valley to victory over Marian, 8-2.Nahas struck out five consecutive hitters in a sequence between the first and second innings. However, Marian left four runners in scoring position over the first three frames and trailed 1-0 up until then."We got a little tight and tried to do more than we were capable of," said Marian head coach Tony Radocha. "We didn't stay in the moment and we looked too far ahead. At this time of the year, you have to take one pitch at a time. One little stumble can make the whole house fall down."The fourth inning is when Tri-Valley did its damage. Despite just having two hits in the frame, the Bulldogs plated six runs. A few infield mishaps on the Colts' part gave Tri-Valley a few extra outs to play with and Hunter Herb delivered for Tri-Valley.The left-handed hitting senior cleared the based with an opposite field smash which was more than enough run support for Tri-Valley. Herb finished the afternoon with three hits, including two triples and a hat-trick of RBIs.Herb said jokingly, "I had one triple so far this year, so hitting two in one game is a plus. "I was just hoping to get some momentum going. He (Hunter Bordner) threw a great game out there, that's' what we expect from him but he sure was on fire out there. This is my third year in a row going to the finals. We have a lot of young kids who are learning and this team is full of a ton of energy."Nahas had his stuff working for him, as not all of his runs were earnedand he truck out an impressive nine hitters in just four innings of work.It was his counterpart, Bordner of Tri-Valley, who dazzled throughout seven innings and picked up his ninth win of the season.Bordner struck out seven and walked just one during Tri-Valley's semifinal win. The Bulldog ace also drove in two runs at the dish."He (Bordner) was hitting his spots more," explained Tri-Valley head coach Bob Felty. ""We told him that (Marian) is a good hitting team and you can't throw it right down the plate. After the fifth, I told him to go out there and let them hit. I told our other pitchers to get loose, but he (Bordner) told me not to have anyone else get ready and that he wanted this. He reached back and did a heck of a job."Salerno came in to pitch for Marian squad in the fifth and struck out five hitters in just three innings of work.Salerno did a bit of everything this year for Marian - which included what was arguably the best defensive play of the year on the first play of the game, robbing Tri-Valley's leadoff hitter Davidson Schwalm of an extra-base hit. The crowd wasn't even sitting down yet when Schwalm hit a rocket down the third-base line which Salerno fully extended out and used a crafty backhand to throw out Schwalm from the "hot corner"."He is our firecracker whether it's out in the field or at our leadoff position," Radocha said of Salerno who holds the second highest batting average in the Schuylkill League. "He's played six different positions this year, he keeps the machine rolling. I thought his initial play of the game set the tone but we just didn't take advantage of that."Radocha made both the Schuylkill League playoffs and district postseason with a very young Marian team in his first season at the helm."I'm a rookie head coach, but I've been around a while," explained Radocha. "I had a very successful high school career with some great teamswe never made it out of the first round of playoffs. I didn't win my first district medal until I started coaching. Much like them, I'm still chasing my gold medal. That is going to continue to be my goal for these kids, for this program, and for everyone that I've played with that didn't get to win.""I am really proud of them. As a coach, it makes me happy to know I'm making an impact on and off of the field in their lives, because they're a big part of mine as well."Tri-Valley 100 600 1 - 8 7 1Marian 000 020 0 - 2 6 4Bordner and Yoder; Nahas, Salerno (5), and Snerr. W - Bordner. L - Nahas.