For a good portion of their District 18 11-12 Little League tournament opener, it was a back-and-forth affair.

Through the first four innings, Towamensing and Anthracite were locked in a tight battle.

But Towamensing, led by Bryce Baumgardt, finished strong and pulled away for a 15-4 victory.

About the only thing the winners did wrong was lose the coin toss as they played solid defense, not committing any errors.

Baumgardt went 4-for-4, scored three times and knocked in three runs as Towamensing scored 13 unanswered runs after the game was tied 2-2. The win lifts Towamensing into a Saturday home contest against Weatherly.

In addition to two singles, Baumgardt also smoked a pair of doubles.

“He can really hit the ball hard,” said manager Mike Netznik about Baumgardt, who also pitched 3 1/3 innings and struck out eight to gain the mound decision.

The key to the win, according to Netznik, came before the game was played.

“The (night before the game) we had a really good practice,” he said. “I felt that if we swung the bats the way we did in practice, we could be affective.”

The team finished with 13 hits.

The start, however, wasn’t that explosive.

Towamensing did get off to a good start as Baumgardt doubled in the first inning and came home for a 1-0 lead on Jake Burger’s two-out single.

Anthracite answered in the home half when Owen Demyanovich walked and eventually raced home on a double off the bat of Conner Jones.

The visitors went back on top in the third when Baumgardt delivered an RBI single. But once again, Anthracite battled back to force a tie as Axel Hettler singled and scored on a wild pitch.

“The way things started, I thought we were in good shape, but then we kind of hurt ourselves with some errors and walks,” said Anthracite manager Trevor Krisak.

Towamensing snapped a 2-2 tie with five runs in the fifth, despite only collecting one hit in the inning. Four straight walks forced in the go-ahead run while Baumgardt’s ringing double knocked in two more. An error on the play brought in another tally. A ground out accounted for the final run of the frame.

The winners put the game away with eight more runs an inning later. Banging out RBI hits during the uprising were Aiden Timko, Travis Blake, Bentley Stevens and Cole Singleton.

Anthracite did finish on a bright note, receiving a two-run double from Austin Schaeffer.

WEB GEMS … Both teams had some fantastic plays in the field, including a terrific sliding catch by Towamensing center fielder Jake Burger. He slid and held on to the ball, ending the contest. Also, kudos to Jones from Anthracite fielding his pitching position very well.

AT THE PLATE ... Besides Baumgardt, Nick Peters added a pair of hits and a run. Mason Burger chipped in with a hit, two runs and two RBIs.

UP AHEAD ... While Towamensing advances to play Weatherly in the winner’s bracket on Saturday, Anthracite will return to action Monday in the loser’s bracket. It will face the loser of Saturday’s game between Franklin Township and Valley East.

Towamensing 101 058 - 15 13 0

Anthracite 101 002 - 4 6 5

Stevens, Baumgardt (2), Peters and M. Burger; Jones, Krisak (5), Boretski (5) and Demyanovich.

W - Baumgardt. L - Jones.