FREEMANSBURG — After more than two weeks of time off that included two rainouts, it was finally time to get back to action for the Jim Thorpe baseball squad.

Bethlehem Catholic was to host the District 11 Class 4A quarterfinal contest, but the game was moved to the Freemansburg Baseball Field.

Whether it was the result of the long break or the nature of their opposition, the Olympians couldn’t match the offense of the Golden Hawks who ran away with an 11-3 victory.

The top of the first showed promise for Jim Thorpe as it quickly struck for three runs courtesy of two errors and an RBI single from Michael Antignani.

This promise rapidly faded in the bottom of the frame as Becahi responded with four runs to take the lead.

After throwing 25 pitches in the first, Hawks’ starter Joseph Casciano recovered and settled in, tossing six scoreless frames the remainder of the way.

“I’m super proud of Joe Casciano,” said Hawks’ head coach Matt Corsi. “That actually was our first complete game all year by any pitcher, so we’ve been preaching that about our pitchers to go deeper in games and he did a great job today.”

The same could not be said for Olympians’ starter Nick Schwartz.

After getting through the second, Becahi put the final blow into the Olympians season in the third as it broke open for six runs and eventually ended Schwartz’s outing.

Casciano and Joey Richards produced RBI hits, Phil Taylor delivered a two-run single, and Caden Deegan capped things off with a two-run home run.

Olympian head coach Joseph Marykwas couldn’t do much more than give credit where it was due, despite the disadvantages of having significant time off.

“We played a very good baseball team in Bethlehem Catholic,” he said. “They hit the ball extremely well today.

“I think the layoff didn’t help; we had 11 days off and then we were inside for the last four. But hats off to Bethlehem Catholic.”

One more Hawks’ run in the fourth on an Emery Oberholzer RBI single completed the 11-3 score and sent the Olympians home for the final time this season.

While every end has its disappointments, Jim Thorpe went 5-1 to end its regular season to qualify for districts after initially having a 5-9 record.

The late stretch of success left coach Marykwas with promise and optimism for the future of his team.

“They have the most heart I’ve coached in a long time,” he said. “As far as baseball, they never quit. Even when we were losing games during the year, there was never any quit. They always came back to practice, worked hard, and never ever gave up in any game. So I’m extremely proud of them.”

Jim Thorpe 300 000 0 - 3 5 3

Becahi 406 100 x - 11 11 3

Schwartz, Hess (3) and MoDavis; Casciano and Richards. W - Casciano. L - Schwartz. HR: Bethlehem Catholic - Deegan (3rd, one on).

Records: Jim Thorpe (10-11); Bethlehem Catholic (9-11).