FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — A season ago, Tamaqua’s Noah Mateyak watched from the bleachers, as baseball just wasn’t in the cards for him at the time.

Missing something, however, can be good for the soul.

Mateyak, a southpaw, ended up having a change of heart and luckily for the Blue Raiders, the 5-9 senior paid a visit to head coach Jeff Reading and told the longtime mentor that he wanted back in.

And back he came.

On Thursday, in Mateyak’s most important start of the season to date, he tossed a two-hitter to lead the Blue Raiders to a 4-0 victory in the Schuylkill League championship game at North Schuylkill High School.

The victory was another crowning moment in Tamaqua’s baseball program, as it captured its second straight league title.

“He missed last year and in talking to him, he wished he had played,” Reading said about Mateyak’s change of heart. “He got back into baseball shape, and he really put on a bulldog performance.”

Indeed, he did.

And like they have all season, his teammates found a way to win for the 13th consecutive time.

“It is great, and so much fun,” Mateyak said with a big smile while clutching his gold medal.

Despite Mateyak’s heroics, this wasn’t a one-man show.

The Raiders boast one of the premier players in all of Pennsylvania in Mason Ligenza, who is referred to in some quarters as the Big Bopper. And even if he’s not taking a mighty swing, a simple walk energizes the team.

“I just wanted to do my job and get on base,” said Ligenza, who walked three times, had a single, four stolen bases and scored three of his team’s four runs.

Ligenza walked and scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the first to give Mateyak all the run support he would need.

The Raiders added insurance in the fourth with a pair of runs to make it 3-0. Ligenza again walked to start the rally, and scored on a double off the bat of Bloomsburg-bound Luke Kane. Cooper Ansbach, who collected three hits in the contest, delivered an RBI single.

“I knew I was going to see an off speed (pitch),” Kane said. “I’ve been seeing that type of pitching all (season), especially since we’ve played them now three times.”

Landon Kamant also had a solid day with two hits, while Jake Yenser, Logan Morgans and Max Najarro all added singles.

“It’s amazing (to win) another championship,” said Ansbach, who was the winning pitcher in last year’s title game. “We had our job to do, we jumped on them early … and the way Noah was pitching was so great. And Landon had a great game at third.”

The hot corner was well-manned by Kamant, as Ansbach was quick to make sure his teammates were lauded. Kamant picked off a liner in the second, and scooped up two other chances to take away hits from the opposing team.

“Playing on turf, you just get your hop and I was just playing the ball,” Kamant said.

“I knew I was going to see an off speed (pitch,),” Kane said, “I’ve been seeing that type of pitching all (season), especially since we’ve played them now three times.”

While the offense did its part, Mateyak continued to rock and fire. He seemed to grow stronger as the game hit the later innings, fanning six batters in the final two frames.

“I felt pretty good out there. I wasn’t tiring,” said Mateyak, who finished at 91 pitches. “I was hitting my spots … I got a lot of strikes on the inside (part of the plate), but their batters were crowding and I felt comfortable putting the ball there.”

Tamaqua added an insurance run in its final at bat after Ligenza walked, stole second, and eventually scored on an Ansbach single to center.

“There are some nerves out there, but you can’t let it affect your game,” said right fielder Yenser.

As for Reading, there was no hooting or hollering, as he had a quiet demeanor with emotional support dog Otis huddled next to him.

“It’s hard to win a championship, but these kids persevered all season,” he said. “They faced a lot of tough pitchers, and they just find ways to get the job done.”

QUOTABLE … “This is a senior group, and they won’t quit no matter what. They won’t give up until that last strike,” said Reading about his team.

CLUTCH ALL YEAR … Reading said his team has risen to the occasion all season. They played a lot of close games, but always found a way to come up with the key hit or a big defensive play to win games.

TWO HITS … Mateyak allowed two hits, both at the bottom of the order. Tri-Valley’s pitcher Payton Schley had a single in the third, and Brady Clark singled in the sixth. Mateyak’s only walk came in the seventh inning.

Tri-Valley 000 000 0 - 0 2 0

Tamaqua 100 201 x - 4 10 0

Schley, Stewart (5) and Hatter; Mateyak and Kane. W - Mateyak. L - Schley.

Records: Tri-Valley (17-6); Tamaqua (20-1).