ORWIGSBURG — Blue Mountain, seeded second in Class 4A of District 11, validated that post-season position on Tuesday.

The Eagles, playing on their home field, used PSP — Power, Speed and Pitching — to gain a 15-1 win over seventh-seeded Tamaqua in a shortened quarterfinal game.

Despite the score, Blue Mountain actually got off to a slow start.

After an inning and a half, the Tams had a 1-0 lead and left the bases loaded in the second.

But the sizzling of the fuse quickly ended with an explosion for the Lady Eagles. Their offense put on quite an offensive display, getting six runs in the second inning, one in the third and eight more in inning No. 4.

Tamaqua, which had three hits in the second inning, couldn’t get another the rest of the night.

Blue Mountain coach Paul Leonard said he didn’t worry about that hesitant start for his team.

“We started off kind of slow,” he said. “The girls were excited to play. It’s districts now. It doesn’t take much to get the juices flowing. They showed up and once we got the bats going a little bit, they got to run around and have fun.”

One player who really enjoyed herself for the Eagles was third baseman Aryana Reilly, who was 3-for-4, whacking a triple and two doubles. She had four RBIs and scored twice.

Reilly has proven herself on the team, Leonard said.

“She started out at the bottom of the lineup at the beginning of the year and about midway through the season, we moved her up to the two hole. She’s really been thriving there.”

It wasn’t JUST Reilly.

Leadoff batter Addyson Fishburn, who came into the game with a .550 batting average, was 3-for-4 with all singles.

And then there was the speed factor.

Twelve stolen bases were recorded by the Eagles. Fishburn came into the game with 33 steals, and added two more to the total.

Regarding pitching, the Raiders faced one of the top hurlers in the area, Emily Leonard, who is ranked 14th in the state with wins (19-1 in the regular season).

Despite Leonard’s reputation, the Tams weren’t intimidated as they gave her all she could handle at the start of the game. In the final three innings, though, she lived up to her reputation.

In the top of the first, Tamaqua sophomore pitcher Peyton Faust got to first on what was a judgment call error with one out. Unfortunately for the Raiders, she was left stranded.

In the second inning, the visitors scored their only run.

Molly Evans hit a blazing single down the right field line. Abbey Whitehead then blasted a single into shallow left field. A double by Sophia Sitlinger allowed Evans to score.

Tamaqua coach Tony Zancofsky was pleased with the at-bat by Sitlinger, whose hit came on a 2-2 count.

“She fought it off with a bunch of foul balls and finally got that double,” said the coach. “She worked hard at that at-bat.

Zancofsky said of Blue Mountain, “They’re a good-hitting team, there’s no doubt about it. They got the speed, and that’s what kills you. The slapping and the bunting. It’s tough to get them out.”

Another issue, said Zancofsky, is that he lacks position players, which makes it tough.

NEXT UP ... On Friday, Blue Mountain will play in the district’s 4A semifinal against third-seeded Palmerton. The two teams didn’t play against each other this year, but met last year in the districts. Of Palmerton, Leonard said, “They’re out of Colonial, and Colonial’s a tough league. I think the Schuylkill and Colonial are probably two of the most premiere leagues in the state. The site and time of Friday’s game will be announced.

PROUD OF HIS TEAM ... Zancofsky said he was thrilled that his team had such success to go to the district playoffs this year. “We’re all right,” he said. “Hey, there’s a lot of teams that didn’t make it.”

Tamaqua 010 00 - 1 3 2

Blue Mountain 061 8x - 15 10 5

Faust, Knitter (2), Gormley (4) and Evans; Leonard and Frie. W - Frie. L - Faust.

Records: Blue Mountain (21-1); Tamaqua (10-11).