ORWIGSBURG — Trying to go toe-to-toe with Blue Mountain’s baseball team is like wading through quicksand.

With a lineup that hits from top to bottom, along with strong pitching and solid defense, the Eagles present a daunting challenge.

Northwestern Lehigh learned that quickly Monday.

When Blue Mountain sophomore right-hander Riley Sebastian threw his first fastball, it was clear it would be a long evening for the Tigers.

Sebastian tossed four innings of no-hit baseball, and reliever Cohen Kirby finished the job without allowing a hit as Blue Mountain rolled to a 10-0 nonleague win.

“He’s quite a pitcher for being only a sophomore,” Blue Mountain coach Jarrod Kramer said.

What’s more impressive, Kramer added, is that Sebastian is considered the best catcher in the Schuylkill League.

Blue Mountain also produced at the plate, collecting 11 hits.

“They have all the makings of a good team. We knew this was going to be an uphill battle and a challenge for us,” Northwestern coach Brian Polaha said.

The tone was set in the first inning.

Sebastian helped his own cause with a double to left field. He was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple on a 7-6-5 relay, but that was only a brief reprieve.

Blue Mountain followed with four hits in the inning. Aiden Finn, Frankie Russo, Evan Setlock and Josh Hoover all contributed as the Eagles jumped out to a 5-0 lead.

“We had an opportunity to turn a double play to get out of that inning,” Polaha said. “If we get that, maybe we get out of the inning giving up only one run. You make one error like that, and all of a sudden it’s 5-0.”

And it kept growing.

The Eagles added a run in the second. Sebastian drew a walk and scored on a groundout.

Two innings later, Blue Mountain broke it open with a three-run rally. The big hit was a drive to the base of the left-field fence by sophomore Sonny Amato.

But the spotlight remained on Sebastian.

“When we found out that he could pitch, we were trying to hold him back a little bit. We wanted to save his arm with all the catching and pitching, then we decided to cut him loose,” Kramer said. “You know the guys feed off his energy.”

Though Blue Mountain didn’t need him to finish, that was by design, as Kirby came on to close out the game.

The Eagles added their final run in the fifth on a throwing error. Pinch-hitter Andrew Biehm singled and later scored.

“We were scuffling a bit at the plate, but they’re a pretty good ball club, and it was important that we got those early runs,” Kramer said.

Northwestern managed just three baserunners, all via walks — one each to Cannon Fitch, Ethan Konyak and Mark Shafer.

“(Sebastian) was pitching with a lead, and they were very aggressive,” Polaha said. “I thought we battled. They made some very big plays. They’re a very good ball club, one of the best teams in the area.”

HE SAID IT ... “He has command of all his pitches … he throws them all for strikes,” Kramer said of Sebastian’s emergence as a pitcher.

AIMING ... The Tigers are assured of a district playoff berth, and are currently the No. 3 seed. They also sit fourth in the Colonial League tournament standings.

EAGLES FLYING ... Blue Mountain is looking to earn the top seed in Schuylkill League Division I. Tri-Valley sits atop the standings at 9-2, while the Eagles are 8-2. Pottsville follows at 7-3.

Northwestern 000 00 - 0 0 1

Blue Mountain 510 31 - 10 11 0

Fronina, Marrazzo (5) and Fatzinger; Sebastian, Kirby (5) and Amato. W - Sebastian. L - Fronina.

Records: Northwestern (12-8); Blue Mountain (15-3).