Weeks ago, when the Towamensing/Anthracite all-star team was being formed, manager Kevin Buck let his players know how he thought they were going to win games.

As it turns out, he was exactly right.

On Friday night in the opening round of the District 18 Little League tournament, his club held off Jim Thorpe for a 7-4 victory. And the winners didn’t rely on heavy hitting at the plate to get the job done.

“I told the kids in the beginning of the all-star season that we’re not going to outhit everyone,” said Buck. “We’re going to win games with pitching, defense and timely hitting.

“Three weeks ago, these kids came together for the first time, and over the course of several practices they came together very well. They played wonderful as a team today, executed in all the spots you need to to come out victorious ... When they were asked to do something, they did it.”

One player, especially, came through when he was asked to do his job.

Lukas Rivera came on to pitch in the bottom of the third after his team had taken a 5-3 lead. With hurlers from both clubs having trouble consistently throwing strikes, Rivera pounded the zone.

He struck out the side in the third, and allowed just two hits and one run over the final four innings. He ended the contest with eight strikeouts.

“I personally have had Lukas on my team for spring seasons, all-star seasons, fall seasons probably the last 4-5 years,” said Buck. “And he’s always been my No. 1 or 2 pitcher. This kids going to have a great future in baseball.

“I can’t say enough good things about him, his brother, his family ... He certainly (throws hard). He also mixes things up well. He catches guys off guard, and he does his job as a pitcher.”

Jim Thorpe head coach Alex Guthrie agreed.

“Their pitcher had some great stuff, especially his off speed,” said Guthrie. “When we got behind in the count, he was able to fool us with a few of those. He induced soft contact, and got a couple strikeouts when we had runners on.”

Both teams had quite a few runners on early in the game.

Towamensing/Anthracite pushed across three runs in the first inning without a hit. Four walks, a wild pitch and a couple ground outs accounted for the early tallies.

Thorpe battled back, though, knotting the score with three runs in the home second. Two walks and a hit batter set the stage for Tyler Hoherchak’s two-run single. The final run crossed on a ground out.

“I think nerves got us a little bit in the beginning of the game,” said Guthrie. “We had to settle in. We gave up a few runs, but the kids battled back. We just had a rough day at the plate. The kids gave it their all, but we just couldn’t swing the bats like the way we wanted to today. But we’ll bounce back.”

The winners used their bats in the third inning to take the lead for good. Gabe Perilli connected for his team’s first hit - an RBI double over the right fielder’s head to put his team ahead 4-3. Two batters later, Michael Mazzei delivered a run-scoring single.

Towamensing/Anthracite upped the advantage in the next inning after Spencer Schirer singled and Parker Ahner walked. Following a wild pitch, both runners scored while Thorpe was tagging out a batter heading up the first base line on a dropped third strike.

“It feels great to get the win,” said Buck. “Jim Thorpe has a good ballclub ... but our kids just kept grinding it out, grinding it out.”

AT THE PLATE ... T/A’s Perilli had two RBIs for the winners, while Ahner walked four times and scored twice. Schirer and Carson Jones both added a pair of runs. For Thorpe, Caleb Kosko had a double and scored two runs. Spencer Gothard and Anthony Kiehl also had hits.

QUITE AN AT-BAT ... While T/A walked 11 times in the game, Michael Demyanovich’s may have been the most impressive. In the fifth inning, he fouled off numerous pitches and eventual gained a free pass on the 11th pitch he saw in the at-bat.

COMING TOGETHER ... The two communities coming together to form one all-star team has been smooth for Buck’s club. “The parents from both teams understand what our ultimate goal here is and they’ve been very supportive, both the Anthracite League as well as the Towamensing League. The presidents of both leagues, I couldn’t ask for more support from them. They’ve been wonderful.”

Tow./Anth. 302 200 - 7 3 0

Jim Thorpe 030 100 - 4 4 1

Negley, L. Rivera and Ahner; Hoherchak, A. Kiehl (4) and A. Kiehl, Sandquist (4), Kosko (6). W - L. Rivera. L - Hoherchak.