SCHNECKSVILLE - Pitching and defense.

That combination wins a lot of baseball games.

It did for Southern Lehigh in Tuesday’s Colonial League semifinal playoff game against Northwestern.

The Spartans’ Luke Lea scattered seven hits, while his fielders behind him made a number of big plays during a 7-0 victory that ended the Tigers’ winning streak at nine games and prevented them from playing for a league championship.

“Honestly, that’s the first time we’ve put those two things together in a long time,” said Southern Lehigh head coach Todd Miller, whose team will now face Notre Dame in Thursday’s title game. “So, I feel pretty good about that. Defensively, they hit the ball really hard but we made a lot of plays. Hats off to our defense. I’m sure they felt a little bit snake bitten for as many balls as they hit hard.

“Efficient is a good word (to explain Luke’s outing). He’s kept us in games all year, so we kind of expect him to come out there (and pitch well). We didn’t expect him to only throw that number of pitches. He was ahead, and he kept the ball down in the zone.”

Lea definitely pitched to contact, striking out only four batters. He threw just 79 pitches - 56 for strikes - and registered a first-pitch strike to 20 of the 29 batters he faced in holding down a potent Northwestern lineup.

“He was super efficient today,” said Tiger mentor Chad Cooperman. “I think we hit the ball pretty well, just right at guys. Luke Lea did a real good job of getting the first batter of every inning out, and it becomes very hard to score in high school when the first out is made.

“They scored four runs in the first inning without a hit, and it’s always tough to come back from that when you’re in that hole. You’re really limited what you can do offensively. It’s tough to bunt, and run, and be really dynamic on offense in that regard when you’re playing from behind.”

As Cooperman said, his team trailed early as his pitching and defense struggled in the opening frame.

After Northwestern went down in order to start the game, Southern Lehigh (18-3) used a hit batter and two walks to load the bases in the bottom half. A force out at second plated the game’s first run, while an error on a fly ball to right with two outs allowed three runs to race home to make it 4-0.

The Tigers’ Shaun O’Donnell relieved and finished the first. The left-hander then tossed three scoreless innings to keep his team in the game.

“O’Donnell was great,” said Cooperman. “He stepped up in a big spot, and really kept us close and gave us a shot to come back and grab some momentum. He definitely excelled in his role today.”

Unfortunately for Northwestern, that momentum-building hit never came. And the Spartans had something to say about that.

Joshua Lichman collected the Tigers’ first hit in the second inning, but Solehi turned a double play to quickly erase the runner. In the fourth, Northwestern had runners on first and third with two outs, but a diving play by Spartan second baseman Janssen Brown robbed O’Donnell from a hit and an RBI. Later, O’Donnell was again deprived of a hit and an RBI when center fielder Michael Andrews snared a sinking line drive.

“I trust the people behind me,” said Lea. “We have a great outfield and the infielders all can make plays, so I just know that if I keep the ball around the strike zone, we have a good chance of winning.”

“High school baseball is all about momentum, and they got it early,” said Cooperman. “We were a big hit away ... when we had runners on with two outs to get into it. They just had momentum the whole game, and if you don’t grab it back in high school sports, it’s really difficult to win the game.”

The Spartans made it even more difficult for the Tigers (14-8) to rally when they tacked on three more runs in the fifth. Will Woodring and Lea both had run-scoring doubles, while Landon Bealer contributed an RBI single.

“Now, it’s all about how we respond and get ready for the district tournament,” said Cooperman. “We’ll see who we get, and we just need to come out and play quality Tiger baseball, and whatever happens, happens.”

TIGER HITS ... Ben Boyer and Lichman both had two hits for Northwestern, with Lichman’s one hit a double. The other three hits came from Justin Augustus, O’Donnell and Nicholas Scott.

NO HAT TRICK ... The Tigers were trying to defeat Southern Lehigh for a third time, having posted 7-4 and 7-5 wins during the regular season. The only other loss by the Spartans this season came against Pottsville.

IN CONTROL ... Lea walked just one batter, and went to three balls on a batter just twice. Of the 29 plate appearances, 15 of them ended with two pitches or less.

Northwestern 000 000 0 - 0 7 2

Southern Lehigh 400 030 x - 7 7 1

George, O’Donnell (1), Boyer (5) and Augustus; Lea and Woodring. W - Lea. L - George.