With the winning run leading off second base and one out, Jake Schwartz was sitting on a fastball.

When he got it, the smash was a no-doubt-about-it drive over the left fielder to plate Noah Snisky in Jim Thorpe’s dramatic come from behind, 5-4 victory over Tamaqua on Thursday.

“I thought that after he started me off with a curveball, he’d throw a fastball, “ said Schwartz. “I was looking middle in and when I got it I put my swing through it.”

A wild seventh inning that saw six combined runs from both teams overshadowed a superb pitching performance by JT’s Jared Marykwas. The sophomore hurler appeared to have delivered his teammates a six-hit shutout when the Raider’s Brandon Knoblauch, with two runners aboard, grounded out to the mound for what appeared to be the final out of the game. After time was called, the base umpire overruled the plate umpire and determined that the ball had been fouled off Knoblauch’s foot.

After that, the door swung wide open for the Raiders. Knoblauch bounced a single up the middle driving in Aaron Coccio from second. Nick Breiner followed with a pop single to score Michael Bonestsky and slice JT’s lead to 3-2. Tate Ligenza lined a two-run single to center and just like that Tamaqua (2-8) grabbed a 4-3 edge heading into the home half of the seventh.

Ian Hubbard led off for the Olympians with a double to deep left. Snisky then laced a liner down the left field line scoring Hubbard with the tying run and after two outs, the stage was set for Schwartz to deliver the game winner.

“I expect to come up in these situations,” said the senior captain. “I try to execute and I only had one hit today, but I was glad it was this one.”

Raider’s coach, Jeff Reading took the one positive from the loss. “I was glad to see us come back to take the lead,” he said, “but we need to find the fire to turn our season around.”

Olympian coach, Joe Marykwas liked the fight he saw when his team nearly lost a game it seemed to have had in the bag. “As a group we battle back when we’re behind. We take the approach to hit the fastball when you see it. Swing the bats and good things happen.”

Jared Marykwas retired the side on just six pitches in the opening inning and Tamaqua’s Knoblauch matched zeroes with his counterpart for the first two innings.

In the home half of the third, Jared Joyce and Hubbard lined two-out singles before designated hitter James Lordi drove in two runs with a flyball single down the left field line. Thorpe added a run in the fourth when a bases-loaded errant infield throw scored Evan Dart from third who led off the frame with a walk.

Reading made mention that his team’s last-inning comeback was no moral victory. “We’re not doing the little things right. We need to take better approaches at the plate and stop waving at balls out of the strike zone. Every game brings difficult situations. and we have to adapt. Knob did a good job pitching today. We give up three runs and we should win. There’s a deflation in us because we got the lead but we didn’t finish it.”

Marykwas, whose team improved to 5-4 on the season, called the win a “momentum builder.

“We’re heading into a bunch of games against some quality teams,” he said. “This win should help our confidence going forward.”

DOMINANT FROM THE BUMP … Marykwas retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced and pitched 6 2/3 innings without issuing a free pass.

SEVENS ARE WILD … The Raiders and the Olympians combined to score six runs on eight hits in the final inning in a game in which neither team put up a single run in 11 combined tries.

Tamaqua 000 000 4 - 4 10 2

Jim Thorpe 002 000 3 - 5 7 0

Knoblauch, Boyle (6) and Wickersham; Marykwas, Snisky (7) and Schwartz. W - Snisky. L - Boyle.