Base running is often an overlooked skill in baseball, but on Tuesday night the Tamaqua 9-10-year-old squad used smart, aggressive base running to earn a 4–1 win over Franklin Township.

The victory sets up a winner‑take‑all matchup tonight at 7:30 at McGarvey’s Field in Jim Thorpe, with the District 18 championship on the line.

“That’s our identity I would say. Our kids love it. I think our kids run the bases better than most,” said Tamaqua manager Mike Brennan. “They have two phenomenal catchers, which makes it a little harder to do so against them, but if we get the opportunity to do it, we’re going to do it.

“Lucas Brennan was able to steal home twice tonight. He loves to do it. And Hunter Hill had the other one. I’m just really proud of our kids for how they came out and competed tonight.”

Tamaqua struck first, building a 2–0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Hill drew a walk and Brennan followed with a double, putting runners on second and third with no outs.

An RBI groundout brought Hill home, and after a pop-out, Brennan added another run with a heads-up baserunning play. He faked a move back to third, freezing the Franklin defense, and then broke for the plate to bring in another run.

“We practice for stuff like that and we expected it, but sometimes in the heat of the game that kind of stuff happens. There’s a little inexperience there, too, that plays a part as well,” said Franklin Township manager Nick Storm.

“But coming into tonight, we knew Tamaqua was a talented team; Tamaqua always has good teams. Credit to them, because they made some great plays. For us, we’re going to come out tomorrow confident, and we’re going to come out to win, and we will see how it all falls.”

Franklin was able to generate some offense in the top of the fourth. A double by Maverick Kegerise sparked the rally, and Kaleb Storm followed by dropping a soft liner perfectly between the shortstop and third baseman to drive Kegerise in and cut the deficit to 2-1.

Nolan Kotch added a hit to keep Franklin Township’s momentum alive, but Tamaqua managed to escape the inning without further damage, ending the threat on a lineout.

Tamaqua came up with the clutch plays it needed in the bottom of the fifth, tacking on two more runs to make it a 4-1 game.

A walk to Hill, and an infield single from Brennan once again put pressure on Franklin Township. A wild pitch in the next at‑bat moved both runners into scoring position, and Hill crossed the plate a few pitches later on a passed ball.

Moments after that, Brennan caught the Franklin defense yet again, stealing home for a second time to extend Tamaqua’s lead to three heading into the top of the sixth.

Tamaqua’s pitching, which was steady all night, shut the door on any hopes of a Franklin Township comeback.

Starter Braxton Barrett forced two quick groundouts before reaching his pitch limit, bringing Brennan in for relief.

Franklin’s Henry Eckman kept his team alive with a single, but a flyout to right field in the next at‑bat ended the game.

Barrett was strong on the mound for Tamaqua, working 5.2 innings and allowing just one run on six hits. Nash Cuyler also delivered a solid outing for Franklin Township, surrendering only three hits while striking out seven.

“We just kept making some great plays out there. Kaden Fink’s catch in the fifth is as good as a catch that you will see at any level. Braxton was the top pitcher in our league all year and he showed that tonight. We believe we have a lot of guys who we trust to go out there and throw,” said Brennan.

“We came into this game with the attitude that the pressure was not on us. We’re coming out of the loser’s bracket, and the goal was to get ahead and try and stay ahead and force that second game. I really feel like offensively we’re due for an explosion, but if we have to continue to play small ball to try and win; that’s what we will do as well.”

Franklin Twp. 000 100 - 1 6 0

Tamaqua 020 02x - 4 3 3

W - Barrett. L - Cuyler.