There was never any hesitation — not one iota — from the 12-year-old Tamaqua Little League All-Stars on Thursday evening against unfamiliar Pocono Mountain East at Billy Angst Stadium in the District 18 tournament.

Make no mistake: the Blue Raiders had an early answer and rode the one-two pitching punch of Abram Graver and Bryson Bailey, who kept the Pocono squad in check after falling behind 2-0.

Tamaqua quickly surged ahead as its offense found snap, crackle and pop, roaring to an impressive 5-2 victory. The win sends the club into Monday’s winners bracket final at Jim Thorpe, which also advanced with an 8-7 win over Stroudsburg.

Tamaqua rose to the moment in the bottom of the first, scoring three times off a very effective Brian Dinger, a lanky 6-foot-1, 12-year-old pitcher. Tamaqua didn’t flinch, stringing together a Graver single, a walk to Grayson Smith, and RBI singles from both Aiden Sabol and Bailey, along with aggressive baserunning, to jump ahead 3-2 and never look back.

“We knew this bunch could hit, we just had a slow start in the (tournament),” Tamaqua manager Brian Smith said.

Tamaqua finished with nine hits, led by two each from Finnegan Davis and Sabol. Erick Sommers, Jake Kufro, Bailey, Smith and Graver also contributed to the offense.

“We have (most) guys up and down the lineup that can put the bat on the ball, and we are just coming around,” Smith said.

On the mound, Graver got the start and, aside from a first-inning hiccup, was superb. He threw 65 pitches — 24 in the first inning — and once he settled in, he became tough to crack. Bailey relieved him with two outs in the fourth, by design.

“We were cutting him off at 65 pitches,” Smith said, looking ahead to Monday. “(Graver) gave us a fantastic performance and we called on (Bailey). He is our (change of pace) guy ... you see him with that filthy curve ball, it’s so tough to follow, let alone hit, and when he is working it, it is something special. So, that was our approach.”

Pocono Mountain East, the designated visitor via coin flip, looked every bit like a strong hitting team early. Leadoff batter Dom Ficarro walked, then Emilio Richart ripped an RBI double to the right-center gap and later scored on an error.

From there, East went quiet. Graver dug in, striking out seven before handing the ball to Bailey.

Graver allowed only two other hits — a leadoff single by Dorance Hillyerd in the second, and a one-out single by Richart in the third.

Tamaqua added two insurance runs in the fourth. Smith blasted a double, Davis singled him home, and Kufro singled in Davis.

“After our win on (Saturday) and the way Jake hit the ball (the staff) immediately moved him up to the cleanup spot,” Smith said.

Tamaqua nearly added another run in the fifth. With one out, Sommers singled to center and Mason Murphy bunted him to second, but PM East center fielder Andrew Leonard made a strong play to rob Preston Woschler of a hit.

“I was really impressed with (Tamaqua), they’re a darn good team. Their pitching shut us down, which I thought was the key to the game,” PM East manager Daniel Gonzalez said. “Our team can hit the ball, but their two pitchers were the reason they beat us.”

GETTING IT DONE ... Tamaqua’s standout pitching puts the club in a favorite’s role. Throwing consistent strikes gives any team a chance, and with two additional pitchers yet to appear, the Raiders look strong moving forward.

WHAT A PLAYER ... Tamaqua shortstop Smith made several standout plays. He has a quick release and a strong arm, throwing out three runners — including Ficarro in the final inning on a deep ball to short.

IN CHECK ... PM East finished with four hits. Tamaqua pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts — eight by Graver and five by Bailey. Dinger went the distance in the loss, striking out six and walking just one.

PM East 200 000 - 2 4 0

Tamaqua 300 20x - 5 9 2

Dinger and Gonzales; Graver, Bailey (4) and Runk. W - Graver. L - Dinger.