Over the last few seasons, the Jim Thorpe baseball squad has shown flashes of becoming a more competitive program.

On Monday against Schuylkill League Division 1 foe Tamaqua, the Olympians' potential finally turned into production.Thanks to a fantastic pitching performance from senior Matt Day and a four-run third inning, Thorpe was able to surprise the Blue Raiders with a convincing 6-0 victory.From the onset, Day kept the Raiders off balance, not allowing a hit until the fourth inning. In fact, Day allowed just one baserunner during that stretch, which was a walk to Daylan Barron in the second inning."I was definitely a little anxious with it being my first start, but as the game went on I got really comfortable and confident," said Day. "I just concentrated on hitting my spots, and what really helped me today was my change-up. It wasn't really working for me in my last couple outings, but today I was able to get it going."The Olympians offense didn't take advantage of opportunities early on, squandering opportunities in both the first and second inning with runners in scoring position. But in the third inning, Thorpe was able to break through, scoring four runs on four hits in the frame.The big inning got started when Tamaqua pitcher Casey Rother surrendered a walk to Aaron Joyce and then a single to Derek Joyce. Nick Porembo opened the flood gates with an RBI single. Jake Burkhart followed with a huge two-run single before Chris Valdez drove in the final run of the inning with a single to right center field.Burkhart was the main man at the plate for Thorpe, coming through with three hits and three RBIs."I think our kids really played well today at the plate. With how many guys we got in scoring position in the first two innings, I thought it was only a matter of time (until) someone came through with a big hit," said Jim Thorpe head coach Derick Reis. "It was great to see Jake Burkhart break out for us today. He had a good sophomore season for us and then last season came off an injury early on. He looked good today."Day got in a bit of a jam in the fifth giving up two hits. The Raiders had runners on first and third with two outs, but Day was able to get leadoff hitter Nate Boyle to ground out to third to end the inning."We just weren't able to get ahead of batters from the mound today and that hurt us. You also have to give all the credit to Day because he kept us off balance and pounded the zone," said Tamaqua head coach Jeff Reading. "We just weren't able to hit the ball hard today and we just never got anything going on offense. Days like today happen, we just have to get better, and come back focused in our next game."Thorpe added two more runs in the sixth inning to put the game away, as Max Pompa and Aaron Joyce both scored.HITTING THEIR STRIDE ... Thorpe ended the game with six runs on nine hits. Helping out Burkhart was Derek Joyce, who had two hits on the day. Max Pompa, Aaron Joyce, Nick Porembo, and Chris Valdez all added a hit apiece for the Olympians.WHAT A DAY ... Olympians senior pitcher Matt Day pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits and walking just two batters.Tamaqua 000 000 0 - 0 4 2Jim Thorpe 004 002 x - 6 9 0Rother, Minchhoff (4), and Knoblauch, Rother (4); Day and A.Joyce. W - Day. L - Rother.