POTTSVILLE — Playing with a lead is usually easier said than done.

But the Nativity baseball team had no problem gaining an early advantage and running with it during the District 11 Class 1A quarterfinals against Weatherly on Monday.The Hilltoppers struck early and often, scoring all of its 14 runs in the first three innings, en route to a 14-2 postseason victory over the Wreckers.“We told the kids right out of the shoot that we need to play ahead,” said Nativity coach Chris Polm. “When we play ahead, we’re much better. When we play behind, it gets tight and the kids get a little panicked-out. We got the lead right away and we were OK.”The Hilltoppers scored three runs in the first inning. Jake Ferhat started the game with a single and Dominic Dostick walked behind him. After a pair of outs, both runners scored off a fly ball to right field that could have been caught from Connor Burke’s bat, which plated a pair of runs. Matt Cromyak then drove in Nativity’s third run on a single. Burke later hit an inside-the-park homer in the third inning, which trickled to the softball field’s infield at Nativity’s stadium.“Connor has been hitting the ball hard,” Polm said. “We thought we would take advantage of that and put him down in the five-hole, where he can get some runners on second and third.”Before Weatherly could record six Nativity outs, the Wreckers committed four errors and finished with eight for the game. The Wreckers booted balls, misplayed them in the outfield, and made overthrows which gave the Hilltoppers many extra bases.“That’s the story of our whole season,” said Weatherly coach Mike Baran. “We haven’t been able to make the plays. Our outfielders have been our strongest point of our defense, and they made most of our miscues. Balls got by them that were singles, and ended up being extra-base hits. We threw some balls away on our throws in, and that’s been our downfall.”While the Nativity offense was cruising, so too was its ace pitcher, Riley White. White struck out seven batters and walked none over four innings.“He’s the best pitcher I’ve had up here without a question,” Polm said “He throws strikes and keeps the ball in the zone. We are a ‘Jekyll-and-Hyde’ team ... For that reason, I had to throw my No. 1 and we had to win this game. If we don’t win this game, I go through the whole summer knowing I didn’t throw Riley White, and that’s not a good thing to think about.”Weatherly did strike twice in the fourth inning thanks to the middle of its lineup. Lou Mastroddi mashed a ball that hit the bottom of the left-center field fence, ending up on second base and brining home a run.He added a single in his only other at-bat. According to Baran’s numbers, Mastroddi has hit well over .500 this season and has been the key cog of the Wreckers’ lineup.After the Wreckers’ defense didn’t assist starter Jeremy Moser, Gary Buck came in, but the defensive outcome was much of the same. Between a handful of errors and hits, the Hilltoppers sent 12 batters to the plate in the third inning and scored seven runs. The game was ended after the mercy rule kicked in before the bottom of the fifth inning was played.UP NEXT ... With the win, Nativity will play Tri-Valley at Pottsville in the semifinals.CRAFTY ... Mastroddi, playing third base, made a veteran move in the top of the third inning. With a runner on third base, he charged and fielded a ground ball and pump-faked to first. The Nativity runner was caught cheating toward home, as Mastroddi threw to shortstop A.J. Knepper, who covered the third-base bag, and applied the tag.Weatherly 000 20 - 2 4 8Nativity 347 0x - 14 14 0Moser, Buck (3) and Osifat; White and Ferhat. W - White. L - Ferhat. HR: Nativity - Burke (third, two on).