Coaches love when their players take what they learn at practice and execute it during a game.

They love it even more when that execution leads to success and a win.

On Wednesday, in a key Schuylkill League Division 1 contest against Pine Grove, Lehighton not only came through in clutch situations - but the Indians did it by applying what they learned in their preparation.

The result was a 4-3 victory, which keeps the Tribe in sole possession of second place - and the wild card spot - in the division.

“I was real proud of our starting pitcher (Ian Rarick) ... but what I’m most proud of is we’ve been working at practice on going the other way with the ball for probably the past week,” said Lehighton mentor JC Dietz. “And going the other way, and situational hitting, actually won us this ballgame.

“The kids are listening. Last year, they were trying to pull everything. And if you try to pull (Pine Grove starter Owen) Hannevig, you’re not. You’re just not pulling him. And if you try to, like we did up there earlier this season, he no-hit us for six innings. So, they adjusted to him.”

Lehighton got the early jump on the Cardinals with a three-run second inning. And going the opposite way was the main reason why those runs scored.

With two outs and nobody on base, an error and a walk to Derek Behler set the stage for the bottom two in the Indians lineup.

No. 8 hitter Mike Yeakel worked the count before shooting a ball to right for a double that scored both runners. John Light followed with a single to right to chase home Yeakel and make it 3-0.

“There were two outs and it ended up being a 3-1 count,” said Yeakel. “Fastball, and I let it travel in the zone. Take it to right, and I got a double out of it. There were two runners on and scored them both. We (the bottom guys in the lineup) just kind of want to put the ball in play. We did go over driving the ball to right field, so that helped out.”

“They’re doing what we worked on at practice,” said Dietz. “They’re doing the little things rather than just trying to kill the ball. That’s a very good pitcher we faced there.”

Hannevig limited Lehighton to just one other hit in the contest, but that - along with another important at-bat - tacked on a big insurance run.

After Pine Grove narrowed the gap to 3-1 on a Lane Lehman double and an RBI ground out by Brandon Unger, the Indians came right back.

Aiden Rarick led off the home fifth with an opposite-field double to left and moved up a base on an errant pickoff attempt. Hannevig got a strikeout for the first out, but Brady O’Donnell picked on the first pitch he saw and hit a sacrifice fly to center that made it 4-1.

“Coming up to the plate (there), you just want to get some insurance for your pitcher that’s pitching his heart out,” said O’Donnell. “So, I just went up there and wanted to put the ball in play and it happened to be a sacrifice fly. I was sitting curve, and it was a curve ball.”

“Brady O’Donnell’s sacrifice fly against that pitcher, in my opinion, was the momentum changer of that game,” said Dietz. “He struck out our No. 4 hitter, but Brady hit a rocket on the first pitch to bring that run in. That turned out to be the winning run.”

The Cardinals made things interesting in the sixth, plating two runs with the benefit of just one hit. After a walk and a single, Dietz took out Rarick and brought in Dawson Keiser to close the door. Another walk, however, loaded the bases with no outs.

It looked like Keiser would get out of the frame unscathed when he got a force out at the plate and an infield fly, but a hit batter forced in one run and the third walk of the inning made it 4-3. A ground out ended the threat, and the reliever tossed a 1-2-3 seventh to end the game.

“We have a lot of work left,” said Dietz. “This is a division where anybody can beat anybody. We have a tough Jim Thorpe team (today) which is a rival and we still have (division-leading) Blue Mountain left.”

LEAGUE LOOK ... Lehighton, 10-6 overall, is 7-3 in the league. They trail Blue Mountain (7-1) but are ahead of both Pine Grove (5-4) and Tamaqua (5-4).

ON THE MOUND ... Ian Rarick earned the win, tossing five innings. He allowed six hits and three walks while striking out four. He and Keiser held Cardinals hitters to 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

SOLID DEFENSE ... The Indians didn’t make any errors, and Ian Rarick came up with a key catch in the seventh running down a deep fly to center by Zimmerman to start the inning.”He’s the only one in center field that catches that ball,” said Dietz. “That’s a double. He’s so fast and he ran it down.”

Pine Grove 000 012 0 - 3 6 2

Lehighton 030 010 x - 4 3 0

O. Hannevig, Snyder (6) and Zimmerman; I. Rarick, Keiser (6) and Light. W - I. Rarick. L - O. Hannevig. S - Keiser.