The wait is finally over for Northern Lehigh baseball.

For the first time in 16 years, the Bulldogs have a District 11 playoff win to celebrate.

And Northern Lehigh made it emphatic on Tuesday, bulldozing host Salisbury in the District 11 Class 3A first round, 12-0.

The mercy rule ended the game after six innings.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs scored in every frame but one, ran wild on the bases, and never let the fourth-seeded Falcons get comfortable.

Head coach Gerald Kresge acknowledged some nerves his team encountered during the Colonial League playoffs, but whatever butterflies were present early didn’t stick around long.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this group,” Kresge said. “They earned it, and they see now hard work pays off — and that’s an awesome feeling.”

The Bulldogs poured on the pressure all game, swiping 13 bases in the win — an almost absurd number when considering they had just nine stolen bases in all of last season, according to Kresge.

“We like to be aggressive, and we’ve definitely run more,” Kresge said. “We concentrated on it in the offseason.”

And the work didn’t stop there. Kresge said the team drilled base running at every practice — indoors, outdoors, all of it — and still walked away from Tuesday’s game convinced they left some on the table, noting they could have stolen third base “five or six more times.”

Every Northern Lehigh starter reached base at least once, and the Bulldogs drew 11 walks to aid the rout. The Bulldogs plated one run in each of the first three innings, then broke the game wide open with four in the fourth and five more in the sixth.

Senior first baseman Landon Cougle was the loudest bat in the lineup. Hitting out of the eight hole, Cougle went 3-for-3 with two singles and a double, driving in four runs. The double came in the sixth — an absolute rocket, which hopped to the fence. Kresge was candid about what a luxury Cougle has become at the bottom of the order.

“We moved him a couple of different spots in the order this year, and he’s really producing for us right now,” Kresge said. “We put him at the eight spot, and he’s one of the best eight hitters around. It’s a bonus.”

Parker Schaffer was outstanding on the mound from start to finish for Northern Lehigh. He carried a no-hit bid into the fourth inning before Salisbury’s Garrett Leiner broke through for the Falcons with an opposite-field single.

Schaffer issued a couple of walks and hit a few batters, but whenever the Falcons put the ball in play, the Northern Lehigh defense cleaned it up behind him. Flashing the leather included a few diving catches and a pair of double plays, one of them coming with the bases loaded to negate Salisbury’s best threat of the night.

“Parker pitched an absolute gem,” Kresge said. “But it wasn’t just Parker. It was a team effort.”

Senior Brayden Buskirk collected two singles and stole three bases. Sophomore Avery Kabrick matched him with three steals, adding a single and two walks. Senior Chris Vargas delivered a two-RBI single in the fourth inning, and multiple Bulldogs laid down textbook bunts to move runners around.

Kresge said when he took over the program four years ago, 19 kids showed up. This year, 63 total came out.

“I asked this group as freshmen — I said, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to win districts, I don’t know if you’re going to win states, I don’t know what you’re going to win. But I need you to dedicate and give it all,” Kresge said.

“Whenever our last day of playing together is, if you were a part of changing the culture of Northern Lehigh baseball, then you won, no matter what happens. Now, we won a playoff game, and we’ve changed that culture. It doesn’t matter if they’re a freshman or a senior — they literally treat one another as family.”

There was a pregame wrinkle worth noting. The Bulldogs had an “awful” warm-up by Kresge’s own admission, and the team even took a day off this week.

“We thought the kids were checking out,” Kresge said. “You have all the senior stuff — we had prom this week and all of these things going on ... When we huddled before the game, I’m like, ‘You’re in the playoffs. This is how you’re going to show up? Here’s the good news: some of my best days were when I had an awful cage workout or day in the field before the game — so you can change it.’”

But once the first pitch was thrown, it was a drastically different story.

“There’s been a big push the last two years for character, accountability, and culture. Hopefully it continues for years to come,” Kresge added.

UP NEXT ... The Bulldogs advance to the District 11 Class 3A second round to face top-seeded Allentown Central Catholic on Saturday at DeSales University. The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Northern Lehigh 111 405 - 12 11 1

Salisbury 000 000 - 0 1 2

Schaffer and Buskirk; Kuhns, Gracia, Leiner, Jones, and Kuder. W - Schaffer. L - Kuhns.

Records: Northern Lehigh (11-11); Salisbury (10-11).