CENTER VALLEY - This one wasn’t for the faint of heart.

It was all about courage, character and nerves of steel.

In the end, on a sweltering afternoon that turned into early evening on the campus of DeSales University, Panther Valley held off Palmerton for a scintillating 11-8 win.

The victory allowed the Panthers to hoist a District 11 baseball championship trophy for the first time in nearly two decades and in the process advance to the PIAA State Tournament.

But it wasn’t easy.

The Panthers jumped out to an early lead and never trailed in the Class 3A title game. But Palmerton never allowed them to feel comfortable either.

“Man, I didn’t know what to expect,” was the way Panther Valley manager Rich Evanko assessed the constant momentum swings. “My heart was pumping all game. We were up, then we had to make plays, which we did. Then they put pressure on us, and we came right back the way a champion does.”

The Panther Valley ‘Lumber Company’ showed right from the start that it was ready to play as it belted out four hits and scored three times in the top of the first inning.

Chase Weaver singled to get things started and free-swinging Bradley Hood sizzled a double to left center. Mike “The Big Ticket” Pascoe and Stephen Hood followed with RBI hits to make it 3-0 before a batter had been retired.

Bomber southpaw pitcher Garrett Horvath avoided further trouble, getting the next three PV hitters to go down in order. However, the damage had already been inflicted.

Palmerton got a run back in the home second when Kaleb Eitner singled and Horvath eventually drove him home.

The Panthers (18-6) were back at it in the third when Stephen Hood singled, Cody Orsulak reached on an error, and the hot swinging Hayden Goida uncorked a two-run double for a 5-1 lead.

“I really felt comfortable at the plate all day, said Goida. “I was seeing the ball very well.”

The Bombers got a run without a hit in the bottom of the third, but the Panthers got it right back in the fourth when Pascoe sent a booming flyball down the right field line that enabled Bradley Hood to score for a 6-2 lead.

“I really thought that it had enough carry (over the fence),” Pascoe said of his blast that ended up being a triple. “I hit it hard. It surprised me that it didn’t go out.”

The momentum swung toward Palmerton in the next couple of innings as it scored twice in the fourth and once in the fifth to pull to within 6-5.

In the home fourth, Horvath’s run-scoring double and a sacrifice fly by Nate Steinmetz produced the runs. In the fifth, a walk to Connor Beahm, a single off the bat of Eitner, and a clutch run-scoring hit by Jacob Grammes combined to cut the Bomber deficit to a run.

But just when Palmerton appeared on the verge of a comeback victory, Panther Valley used a huge sixth inning to regain control.

Stephen Hood’s booming two-run triple that scored Weaver and Pascoe ignited the outburst.

“Yeah, I was a little nervous at that point,” Hood explained. “I stepped out the box, and tried to regroup my thoughts. Palmerton had just made it a one-run game, and I knew we had to answer back.”

Panther Valley wasn’t finished, however, as hits by Orsulak and Goida combined with a Bomber error to produce three more runs. By the time the inning had ended, the Panthers had sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs.

Trailing 11-5, Palmerton continued to battle as Horvath worked a walk, Steinmetz singled, and one out later Danny Lucykanish drew a free pass to load the bases. Beahm plated Horvath with a sacrifice fly before Cole Serfass singled in a runner to make it 11-7. A hit batsman reloaded the bases, but Panther reliever Orsulak dug in and got Grammes to flyout to end the threat.

The Bombers (15-9) added another run in the seventh when Chase Reph lined a leadoff single. After Orsulak retired the next two batters, Trey Sterling walked, and Lucykanish slapped out an RBI single to bring the tying run to the plate. But Orsulak would get Beahm to fly out to Weaver in center to end the suspense.

While Evanko’s heart was fluttering, his counterpart, Tyler Svetik, thought there was hope right until the final out.

“Our kids are battlers,” said the first-year Palmerton manager. “If you told me that we were going to score eight runs, I would have said that we were going to win this game.”

LONG TIME COMING ... The district championship was Panther Valley’s first in baseball since 2004.

REMEMBER WHEN … A strong nucleus of the Panther Valley team has been winning baseball championships since they were members of the 9-10-year-old Anthracite Little League All-Star team. The former Coal Barons squad has continued to carry that success into the high school ranks.

LEATHER … Some superb fielding was on display throughout the game, including a pair of highlight-reel grabs by Palmerton shortstop Eitner. Eitner made an outstanding play on a Stephen Hood grounder with a drawn-up infield, and then added a Willie Mays-like over the head catch of a blooper behind second, robbing Matt Engler of a sure hit.

HITTERS … Palmerton’s Horvath and Eitner had two hits apiece. For Panther Valley, Pascoe, Stephen Hood and Goida all had two hits. Both Pascoe and Hood doubled and tripled.

UP NEXT ... The state playoffs get underway on Monday. Panther Valley will travel to Lake-Lehman to take on the District 2 champion Black Knights.

Panther Vy. 302 105 0 – 11 12 3

Palmerton 011 212 1 – 8 9 2

S. Hood, Orsulak (6) and Orsulak and Pascoe; Horvath, Reph (3), Netznik (6) and Serfass. W – S. Hood L - Horvath.