ORWIGSBURG — Aggressive baserunning can be a risk or reward scenario for many teams.

But for Pine Grove, it’s a way of life.

The Cardinals arguably excel on the basepaths better than any other team in District 11, and that energetic play was key in earning a 10-0 victory over Northern Lehigh in Wednesday’s District 11 Class 3A championship contest at Blue Mountain’s James F. Patton Field.

“That’s our game, and sometimes you live and die by it, but it’s a lot of fun. They enjoy it,” said Pine Grove head coach Ryan Leffler. “It’s something we work at at practice. We want to run, and build off each other.

“With our team, our goal is to score at least one run an inning, and we want to put as much pressure on our opponent as possible ... (The aggressive baserunning), that’s part of our game. The kids that can run, we make sure we can master it. If we see any bobbling of the ball or the ball’s down, we’re looking to take the next base.”

That style seemed to throw off the Bulldogs’ defense early, and it led to the Cardinals grabbing an early advantage.

In the home first, Pine Grove leadoff hitter Callee Leffler — who’s batting well over .600 and headed to Florida State — hit a hot shot past Nolehi shortstop Kaylee Snyder for a single. Hannah Aungst and Jamie Dinger both followed with grounders in the infield that looked like normal force outs. But the Cardinal runners used their speed and quick starts off the bases to beat throws on both occasions, resulting in the bases being loaded.

“In that first inning on those ground balls, they were on the base before we had the chance to get a force,” explained Bulldog mentor Dan Caruso. “The aggressiveness they have, I tried to prepare them for that’s what’s going to happen with those two throws. They’re going to take off and run fast.

“I don’t think our team realized how fast they were. They’re a good aggressive team and coached very well.”

The Cardinals did get burned when an out was recorded at home trying to score on a pitch that got away from catcher Emily Gad, who reacted well to get back to the plate and apply the tag. But a sacrifice fly by Lily Flynn, and RBI singles from Tailyn Bohr and Mallory Schneck gave the Schuylkill League squad a 3-0 lead.

“The kids stepped up one through nine for us,” said Coach Leffler about the run-scoring hits from his No. 7 and 8 batters in the lineup. “That’s something they’ve been doing all year for us. And so, today they get to check off one of their goals. We get to go back to the dugout and check off our second goal (a district title) of the year (the first being a league championship).”

Pine Grove added more scoring in the second when Callee Leffler doubled to right and raced home on a single by Aungst. Dinger followed with a single to left and when the ball took a bad bounce, Aungst kept running and didn’t stop until she made it 5-0.

While the Cardinals were adding to the score, Northern Lehigh struggled to get anything going against pitcher Chelcy Clark.

The Bulldogs did manage a walk and a hit by Gad in the third, but a grounder and strikeout kept the Colonial League club off the board.

“We weren’t timing the ball up,” said Caruso. “And I tried to tell them between the first and second ... That’s all it was. We just couldn’t time her up. Later on we had some good hits, and we got some runners.”

Nolehi’s Tegan Simms and Kenzie Chrusical delivered back-to-back singles to open the fourth after Pine Grove extended the margin to 8-0, but Clark worked out of the minor jam with two strikeouts and a pop-up.

“Defensively, we didn’t give them an inch and I’m proud of them for that,” said Coach Leffler. “I thought Chelcy threw a great game for us.”

Flynn belted a solo homer in the home fourth,and an RBI grounder from Schneck pushed the advantage to 10-0, which is how the game ended when the Bulldogs failed to score in the fifth.

“The season was good,” said Caruso. “We had 13 wins. Last season and this season we could have won 17 or 18 games, but we just struggled in some areas. We’re going to come back early. We’re going to try and get the returning players hitting lessons throughout the summer and come back with some good conditioning ... and fundamental work ahead of next season.”

AT THE PLATE ... Simms and Gad both had two hits for the Bulldogs. Leffler ended 3-for-3 and raised her season average to .672. She knocked in two runs and now has 47 RBIs this year. Bohr and Schneck each added a pair of hits.

STATE BOUND ... Pine Grove, which has 13 shutouts this season and has won 17 games by mercy rule, will now enter the state playoffs. The Cardinals face District 3’s third-place team Littlestown on Monday.

Northern Lehigh 000 00 - 0 5 1

Pine Grove 323 2x - 10 11 0

Simms, Smith (4) and Gad; Clark, Dinger (5) and Bohr. W - Clark. L - Simms. HR: Pine Grove - Flynn (4th, none on).

Records: Northern Lehigh (13-10); Pine Grove (23-2).