Tamaqua’s baseball team wasted little time putting away Marian for good Friday afternoon, nailing down a 20-5 non-league victory.

After the Blue Raiders surged to a 12-5 lead over a week ago with an eight-run third inning, the game was suspended in the top of the fourth.

The stoppage didn’t seem to bother Tamaqua (1-3) as it picked up exactly where it left off, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring eight more runs in the home fourth to end the contest.

Weather was the contributing factor back on March 31, as rain pelted the field and put a halt to the action. At that time, Tamaqua had scrambled from a first-inning 5-0 deficit with a four-run second. The Raiders then put together an eight-run rally in the third, taking advantage of three Marian errors.

“I didn’t want to come in here and let (Marian) get any momentum,” Tamaqua head coach Jeff Reading said. “We lost two tough games this week, and we just didn’t want (Marian) to get anything going.”

Nate Wickersham looked sharp and at the top of his game on the mound. He was the third relief pitcher for Tamaqua and picked up the win. Wickersham was called into action to start the third inning, and ended up issuing three walks and no base hits.

“All he has to do is ... throw strikes,” Reading said. “He has a defense behind him; we can make (defensive) plays. We were down in this game, came back and said let’s go right at them.”

When the teams resumed action Friday, Marian had two runners on bases, thanks to a pair of walks. Wickersham, who came in after starter Kaleb Mushock and Brady Miller, wiggled out of the fourth-inning jam by pounding the strike zone with back-to-back strikeouts.

Then in the home fourth, the Raiders bats went back to work with another eight-run rally. There was one out when Wickersham doubled, then rode home on a hit from Lucas Schickram. The hit parade continued with an RBI single off the bat of Joel Schellhammer, and Mushock followed with another RBI single.

Three straight hits from Anthony Coccio, Tommy Case and Tyler Hazlett produced more runs. After that, a walk and a misplayed fly ball allowed the final runs of the contest to score.

“We’re still trying to find out an identity,” said Marian mentor Tony Radocha, whose team dropped to 1-3. “It’s a struggle. We need to make some plays and get some confidence in our young players.

“Because they’re so young, they need to understand they’ve got to come to the ballpark and be ready to play.”

CROSSING THE DISH … Tamaqua had three different players - Coccio, Case and Hazlett - score three runs and all three were hitting in the bottom of the order. Mushock scored twice and had a pinch runner score as well in the seven hole.

HIT ME BEST SHOT … Three Raiders roped out doubles - Wickersham, Coccio and Mushock. Schickram, Wickersham and Coccio each had two-RBI games. The Colts only had one hit, a double, with that coming off the bat of Jake Chulock in the second inning.

Marian 320 0 - 5 1 4

Tamaqua 048 8 - 20 13 1

Walser, Petrilyak (2) Hinkle (3), Brady (4) and Reichert, Segedy (4); Mushock, Miller (1), Wickersham (3) and Wickersham, Mushock (3). W - Wickersham. L - Petrilyak.