Pitching is of paramount importance in the game of softball.

If a team can go into each and every game with a solid pitcher in the circle, then their chances of coming away with a win are definitely improved.Palmerton pitcher Paige Shupp not only gave her team a chance to win on Tuesday in the District 11 3A quarterfinals, she willed the Blue Bombers to a narrow 2-0 victory over North Schuylkill.Shupp's arm served as both the hammer and the nail against the Spartans, shutting the door on them at every turn. Shupp went seven strong shutout innings, striking out 12, while allowing just three hits. It was a truly dominant outing by the sophomore."I knew coming into today that they were a team that could hit the ball well, so I knew I had to hit my spots," said Shupp. "I think my pitches were just working well, and I felt like I had pretty good control."I think the big key was our defense. My teammates played really well today and made some nice plays to get important outs when they hit the ball hard."There wasn't much offense in this one on either side, but what little offense there was happened early.After the Spartans couldn't get anything to materialize in the top of the first, the Bombers (14-7) used a little small ball to put runners on base in the bottom-half of the inning.Shupp led off the inning with a bunt single. She was followed by Paige Frantz, who laid down a bunt that also went for a hit. One batter later, Alyssa Olewine reached base on a fielder's choice, and Shupp used some cunning base running to give Palmerton a 1-0 lead.Avery Neipert then singled on the following at-bat and Sadie Heiney would go on to knock in a run after Neipert's single to make it a 2-0 advantage."A definite strength of our team this season is that we've been able to get off to good starts," said Bombers head coach Robert Hock. "That was the case today and of course, whenever you're the home team and can get an early lead, that's a good thing."It's been a little frustrating at times, though, that we've kind-of shut down offensively after getting out to good starts. Moving forward, I don't think we'll be afforded that luxury. But (this was) a great win and a great effort today."For North Schuylkill, the problem was simple. The Spartans just couldn't get anything going from the plate, advancing a player into scoring positing just three times on the afternoon."The story of our season has kind of been a roller coaster ride. We've been up and down all year, one good game and one bad game, and today we just couldn't get any base runners on," said North Schuylkill head coach Dominick Grasso."All the credit has to go to them, (they're a) very well-coached team, they played great, and their pitcher was good. Congrats to them."NEXT UP... With the win, the No. 4 seed Bombers will go on to face top-seeded Pine Grove in the District 11 3A semifinals. The game is scheduled for Thursday at Blue Mountain, starting at 7 p.m.SHUTOUT ... The shutout by Palmerton was its fifth of the season. The Bombers also blanked Moravian Academy twice, and Pen Argyl and Northwestern once.BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN ... Palmerton entered the contest with two straight losses. This marked the third time this season the Bombers lost two straight games but were able to rebound with a win.North Schuylkill 000 000 0 - 0 3 1Palmerton 200 000 x - 2 6 0Burd and Marlow; Shupp and A. Frantz. W - Shupp L - Burd.