FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — For Tamaqua, the job is still not finished.

To hear the Blue Raiders’ splendid shortstop Cooper Ansbach say so, there is a determination by his team to bring home a District 11 pennant.

They get that opportunity Wednesday after battling through Bethlehem Catholic Sunday at North Schuylkill’s Robert Wetzel Field, rallying for three runs in the home fifth inning. Tamaqua then stymied the Golden Hawks in their final two at bats, ringing up a 4-1 decision to put Tamaqua into the championship round against Northwestern Lehigh.

The Schuylkill League champions, now 21-1, got a big crack of the bat in its first chance at the plate.

Mason Ligenza drove a fastball over the right center-field fence in the home first inning for an early 1-0 lead.

The “Bopper” said he didn’t get all of it, just off the top of the bat. It makes one wonder if he got it all, it may have hit the North Schuylkill Elementary Center a few hundred yards away.

“It was a good way to start for our team,” said the 6-7 dual threat for the Raiders.

It just so happens that Ligenza got the call on the mound and went 6 2/3rd innings striking out 10, issuing two walks and four hits, as a horde of Major League Baseball scouts continue to covet his talent, which is bound for the University of Pittsburgh.

His reputation and respect drew an intentional walk during the fifth-inning uprising.

“He’s probably the best kid, the Valley (and) the area,” Bethlehem Catholic head coach Matt Corsi said. “The home run set the tone. It was kind of funny, we said let him hit four home runs, if nobody’s on, he hits four home runs then we only have to score five.”

But one problem: Ligenza is quite the pitcher who has a tremendous run on his ball, and seldom gets himself in trouble.

“He wasn’t getting some of the (strikes) he normally gets called,” Tamaqua catcher Luke Kane said. “The zone was definitely tight; he wasn’t getting the outside (pitches). But Mason stayed calm.”

And patience is key in baseball.

The Golden Hawks tied the game in the fourth when leadoff batter Joey Richards walked. He nearly was retired on Phil Taylor’s slow roller to shortstop, as Ansbach tried tagging second, before throwing out Taylor.

After Bryce Blawn singled, Cayden Deegan singled home Richards to tie the game. Becahi still had only one out and the heart of the lineup coming up, but it eventually got too cute on an attempted steal of home, and Ligenza alertly picked off Blawn to avoid further troubles.

“(Mason) wasn’t getting some of his pitches called (for strikes),” said right fielder Jake Yenser, who also blistered a no-out double in the first but was stranded. “He is a very accurate pitcher; he seldom gets in trouble.”

There was one other tenuous moment which Ligenza had to wade through, that coming in the fifth. A walk, hit batter and Taylor’s infield dribbler loaded the bases with only one out. Ligenza never wavered, striking out Deegan and Zach McCoy to cool the Golden Hawks rally.

“Mason got that extra kick there in that inning,” Tamaqua head coach Jeff Reading said of the two strikeouts. “He is such a quality player, he has patience, understands what is going on. He kept his composure out there … made his pitches a little better.”

Meanwhile, the Raiders used their knack for coming up big late in the game to score the winning runs.

Brayden Witkowski lashed a single in the fifth before Ligenza wasn’t offered a pitch and was given an intentional walk.

Yenser then walked to load the bases, and Kane’s fielder’s choice grounder brought in the go-ahead run. Ansbach followed suit with an RBI single, while back-to-back walks to Noah Mateyak to Landon Kamant increased the Tamaqua advantage to 4-1.

That was the clincher.

Although Ligenza maxed out on 107 pitches before departing and giving way to Ansbach, the reliever needed to pitch to just one batter to end the contest.

“They’re an aggressive team, they can swing it,” Reading said, thinking about last year’s loss to the Hawks.

“It was on our minds, so that made them a bit more (hungry) to get them back. Having a rematch, a new (season) was on our mind and one of our goals is to get to the (district) championship”

That is now attained.

And now one win is what the Blue Raiders need to fill out their bucket list.

Becahi 000 010 0 - 1 4 0

Tamaqua 100 030 x - 4 7 0

Taylor, Tsihilis (6) and Richards; Ligenza, Ansbach (7) and Kane. W - Ligenza. L - Taylor.

Records: Becahi (8-12); Tamaqua (21-1).