Baseball has always been a game of numbers and statistics. The number of championships a team has won, the number of a player's career home runs and batting average, and a pitcher's earned run average are all worshiped and revered in the game of baseball.

On Monday the numbers 18, 0, and 5 were most important to the Towamensing Joe's Babe Ruth squad. That's because in the fifth inning of the Carbon County Babe Ruth title game against the Franklin Township Falcons, the Joe's scored 10 runs on eight hits to claim the championship. Also, with the win the Joe's put the finishing touches on a perfect season, ending the year with an 18-0 record.For the first four innings of play, it seemed as if the game was going to be a pitcher's duel. The Joe's "Soup" Silfies and the Falcons' Sean Heery both looked good as each team was only able to muster a single first-inning run.Unfortunately for Franklin Township, the fifth inning happens to be the Joe's most productive inning on the season and it certainly showed.After a Jake Taschler sacrifice fly brought in a run, the flood gates opened on the Falcons. Ben Serfass was the young man responsible for that as he got the Towamensing momentum really going with an RBI triple to give Towmensing a 3-1 lead with just one out."I always just try to put the ball in play and get on base," said Serfass. "I got my pitch and I was able to put the bat on the ball and drive it. I knew it was important for us to get some runs and then I knew our pitcher "Soup" Silfies would take care of the rest from the mound."After Serfass' triple the onslaught began. Brody Boehler came through for the Joe's with two hits and three RBIs, Monte Baez collected two hits and two RBIs, and Nothstein added an RBI as well. When it was all said and done the Joe's scored 10 runs on eight hits.Baez came through with the walk-off hit to put the 10-run rule in effect, which ultimately brought the trophy home for the Joe's."This is just a great feeling and with the work we put in we're definitely deserving," said Baez. "We were in the gym in February working towards this goal and I don't know if any other team in our league can say that. I'm just really proud of my teammates today."For Towamensing coach Brian Taschler, he knew it was just a matter of time before his ball club would wake up the bats, especially when he saw the all important and sacred fifth inning on the horizon."If I could color the fifth inning in our team color orange on every scoreboard I would, because we really just pour it on in the fifth for some reason," said Taschler. "We've been doing it all season long and it just happens to be an inning where our kids are extremely focused."These kids have worked hard to get here and we finished out a perfect season. I'm so proud of these guys and I'm looking forward to what they can do in the future."Silfies backed up his teammate's faith holding Franklin Township to just one run on three hits on the evening.Franklin Twp. 100 00 - 1 3 0Towamensing 100 0(10) - 11 12 4Heery and Whiteman; Silfies and Baez; W - Silfies L - Heery.