EAST STROUDSBURG - TJ Murphy couldn’t have asked for a better start.

Even if it was a few months later than he would have liked.

Pleasant Valley’s first-year head coach finally got the chance to take the field Monday in the Lehigh Valley High School Baseball Tournament.

And the Bears didn’t disappoint.

Murphy watched as Pleasant Valley ripped off convincing wins to open Pool G play, outscoring East Stroudsburg South and ES North by a combined total of 17-1.

The coronavirus pandemic wiped out what would have been a promising spring for Murphy and the Bears, but the squad showed it was ready to make the most of its second chance.

“I tried to tell the guys, this is about you; this isn’t about me,” Murphy said. “We’re doing this because we want to send the seniors off with a few more games together, and we’re fortunate enough to be able to play in a venue like this.

“The message was simply to come out here, play loose, have some fun and let’s win. Let’s compete, but let’s have some fun doing that.”

Pleasant Valley shook off a slow start before setting in at East Stroudsburg University’s Creekview Park complex, dispatching East Stroudsburg South 7-1, before posting a 10-0 victory over ES North in five innings.

“The guys were tight in the beginning of the first game, and I think as we broke through and scored a few runs, it really allowed them to just kind of play a little bit more loose and free,” said Murphy. “And we carried it over to the second game. We were able to scratch a few runs across right away and put some pressure on them.

“And we just tacked on. As a team, that’s one of our big things is tacking on runs, and I was satisfied and I was happy, and hopefully we can carry that momentum over to Wednesday.”

The Bears will finish round robin action in the 32-team tournament Wednesday against Stroudsburg. The contest is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at Bryfogle Park.

MERCY ME … Despite leading 10-0 after five innings - a score that puts the mercy rule into effect in high school contests - Pleasant Valley and ES North agreed to play out the final two frames as a way to get players more time on the field. While good in theory, the plan ran into some snags near the end. The games at R. Clinton Hughes Jr. Field were given a two-hour time limit, with PV and ES North the final game of the day at 1:30 p.m. That meant when ES North’s Wes Fernandez stepped to the plate at 3:25 p.m., he was going to be the final batter of the game. But there was just one out and a runner on third base. Fernandez walked, but time was up and the additional action was halted, much to the disappointment of the Timberwolves’ coaching staff.

NEW NORMAL … Many procedures were altered due to COVID-19 safety protocols. There was no home plate umpire for either game; balls and strikes were called from a position behind the mound. And the number of players in each dugout was reduced, with teams mostly outside along the fence.

Pleasant Valley-ES South

Leadoff hitter Brandon Ratti was the catalyst for Pleasant Valley’s offense against the Cavaliers, jump-starting a five-run fifth inning with a one-out triple.

Ratti finished 3-for-4 with a run scored.

“He’s a leader on this team, and we expect big things from him at the top of the order as the table setter,” said Murphy. “When he does that, it really sets the tone for our team. The guys followed and started hitting the ball, but he really got us going.”

The Bears took advantage of two errors in the inning, and a huge two-run double from Zach Walters that scored Nate Loch and Ryan Purgar to make it 4-0. Like he did in Game 2, Dominic Payan stole home, this time making it 5-0.

It was all the run support PV starter Dan McEvoy would need, as he went the distance, striking out 10.

“It felt amazing, to be back playing with friends again. It was just an awesome experience being on ESU’s field, too,” said McEvoy.

The Bears tacked on two more runs in the seventh on an RBI single from Ryan Kymer, before executing a double steal to plate Ben Mostosky.

Pleasant Vy. 000 050 2 - 7 9 1

ES South 000 000 1 - 1 4 2

McEvoy and Greenzweig; Huffman, Maccarrone (2), Markowski (6) and Cramer. W - McEvoy. L - Maccarrone.

Pleasant Valley-ES North

The Bears scored two runs in each of the first two innings to build a 4-0 advantage against the Timberwolves.

Purgar collected two RBI doubles, a walk and scored a run. Ratti finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs a run scored and a walk.

“After the first game we started hitting real well,” said Ratti. “We had fun.

“I feel like the hard work that we put in during the offseason really paid off for us. We’re just going to keep playing hard and keep trying to hit the ball.”

Purgar opened the scoring with a double in the first that scored Ratti. His second hit brought home Gabe Masker in the fifth to push PV’s advantage to 5-0.

Ratti drove in Jake Gethen with a single up the middle in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 6-0.

The floodgates opened in the fifth with Payan scorched an RBI double to left that scored Walters and Masker. A one-out sacrifice fly from Gethen, who also had an RBI double in the second, to score Chris Frable brought the lead to 9-0.

A walk by Loch put runners on first and third. A double steal plated Payan to make it 10-0.

Michael Kearns was strong on the mound for the Bears, scattering two hits over five innings, striking out two.

ES North 000 00 - 0 2 4

Pleasant Vy. 221 14 - 10 8 1

Delia, Acosta (1) and Wilczewski; M. Kearns and Greenzweig. W - M. Kearns. L - Delia.