COPLAY – It wasn’t the final outcome Erick Kresge envisioned for his team.

But it was an experience that neither the Palmerton baseball coach nor his team would soon forget.

The Blue Bombers bowed out of the Lehigh Valley Baseball Tournament on Wednesday splitting a pair of games against Allen and Parkland.

But the setback didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of their first-year head coach or a group of players who relished one more opportunity to play together following a spring spent on the sidelines.

“I told them that it was a pleasure we got to hangout a couple more times, and have the chance to play in this tournament,” said Kresge. “It was a lot of fun to be able to actually be here with them.

“It’s tough for the seniors, they only got three games. But it was better than nothing.”

Palmerton opened the day at Sammy Balliet Stadium with a 6-2 win over Allen. The Blue Bombers erased an early deficit with a big fourth inning to take command before putting the game away.

It was the type of bounce-back performance Kresge was looking for after a 7-5 loss to Whitehall on Monday where Palmerton produced just three hits.

“It was great to come out and get a win,” said Kresge. “It’s unbelievable to actually be out here playing with everything going on. But to come out and get a win on top of it, that was great. These kids play hard, and they deserve to get a win.”

The Blue Bombers hung in with a tough Parkland team early, tying the score in the first inning and trailing 4-1 after the fourth. But the Trojans batted around and hung a crooked numbed on the board in the fifth to blow the game open en route to a 17-1 victory

“I thought we were in this game halfway through,” said Kresge. “We kind of just ran out of pitching. And that’s one of the biggest things playing three games in two days.”

Palmerton finished Pool E play with a 1-2 record

MOVING ON … Parkland took on Whitehall after defeating Palmerton and picked up a 9-7 win. The Trojans went 3-0 in pool play, outscoring opponents 48-9. The Zephyrs went 2-1 in pool play.

Palmerton-Allen

The Blue Bombers spent a few frames knocking on the door before finally kicking it in in the fourth inning.

The rally started when Ryan King reached on an error and Cole Serfass (2-for-3) smacked a single to put two runners on for Tyler Stuck, who drove in King to tie the game at 1-1.

A Colby Kunkle sacrifice fly plated Serfass to give Palmerton its first lead at 2-1. An RBI double from Drew Frank (2-for-3) scored Stuck and pushed the advantage to 3-1.

“This was definitely our wake-up game,” said Frank. “On Monday, we weren’t really hitting the ball that well off a pretty good Whitehall team. But today we really broke out the bats.”

Frank’s double prompted a pitching change, and the Blue Bombers took advantage of a passed ball and a walk to Ethan Steinmetz to put runners at the corners. Connor Beahm, running for Steinmetz, quickly stole second to keep the pressure on the Canaries.

Jacob Sutton cashed in with a sacrifice fly to score Frank to make it 4-1.

“I think for us to get on the scoreboard was the biggest thing, because once we were able to score one, they just kind of followed from there,” said Kresge. “The first one was big, and being able to add on was huge.”

Brock Bollinger delivered a big blow in the top of the fifth inning with a solo homer to right centerfield that pushed Palmerton’s lead to 5-1.

“It felt really good,” said Bollinger. “Coach gave me a 3-0 greenlight, and I took advantage of it.”

Owen Schoch was solid on the mound to keep Allen’s offense off balance. Schoch scattered five hits in five innings of work, striking out four and allowing two runs.

“I just tried throwing strikes,” said Schoch. “I just tried to let them hit the ball, let the defense make plays and throw strikes.”

The defense was solid behind Schoch, committing no errors.

Kunkle pitched the final two innings, allowing two walks and striking out two.

Palmerton 000 410 1 – 6 7 0

Allen 100 010 0 – 2 5 5

Schoch, Kunkle (6) and Bollinger; Moll, McNamara (4), J.R. Rolon (7) and Snyder. W – Schoch. L – Moll. HR: Palmerton – Bollinger (5th, none on).

Parkland-Palmerton

The Blue Bombers didn’t blink going down 1-0 in the top of the first.

After Schoch drew a one-out walk, Bollinger ripped a double to bring him in and knot the score at 1-1. Bollinger was thrown out at third base, and the inning ended when Parkland starter Nikhil Patel got a line out to second base.

Blake Barthol (3-for-4, two triples, three runs scored, five RBIs), Jack Giovenco (2-for-3, double, three runs scored, three RBIs) and Luke Meehan (4-for-4, two doubles, two runs scored, four RBIs) drove in runs in the top of the third to give the Trojans a 4-1 lead.

Palmerton starter Blake Eitner worked out of a jam in the top of the fourth. After hitting a batting and issuing a walk with one out, he retired the next two hitters, keeping the score 4-1.

Eitner was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the fourth, but Schoch hit into a double play before Bollinger flied out to center to end the inning.

The floodgates opened for Parkland in the top of the fifth with 11 runs, including back-to-back homers from Giovenco and Meehan.

Palmerton hitters made solid contact in the contest, striking out just twice.

“Everything we hit today against Parkland, it was right at somebody,” said Kresge “We hit the ball hard … they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about, and that’s what I told them.

“They played hard, and I can’t ask anything more from them. Overall, it was a great day. We have nothing to hang our heads about.”

Parkland 103 0(11)2 – 17 14 0

Palmerton 100 000 – 1 4 3

Patel, Algard (5), Carpenter (6) and Giovenco, Donmoyer (5); B. Eitner, Frank (5), Horvath (5), Kunkle (5), Serfass (6) and Bollinger. W – Patel. L – B. Eitner. HR: Parkland – Giovenco (5th, one on), Meehan (5th, none on).