OREFIELD - Being a freshman on the pitcher's mound to start a playoff game can always be nerve-wracking, but getting run support is the best thing to cure any nerves and help calm things down.

That is exactly what happened for Lehighton freshman starting pitcher Chris Whiteman, who made the start for the Indians in the District 11 Class AAA semifinal Tuesday at Parkland High School.Whiteman pitched like a four-year starter and his teammates gave him plenty of support as Lehighton defeated Southern Lehigh, 6-4, to advance to the district championship game tonight against Palmerton at 7 p.m. at Parkland High School..It was eighth-seeded Lehighton's second big upset of the district tournament. The Indians took down top-seed Northwestern last week before taking care of the fourth-seeded Spartans."This is really special, I can't believe it yet," said catcher Cody Scherer. "This has been one of the best years I've been a part of this team. We go from being 3-17 last year to the district final this year. It's really a big step in the right direction for this program, and very exciting."Scherer had his hand in the offense, along with being the battery-mate to Whiteman. The Indians followed up a three-run fourth inning from Southern Lehigh with back-to-back three-run innings in the fifth and sixth.Brody Hydro and Donovan Buchinsky both had run scoring singles in the top of the fifth as Lehighton tied the game at three. Scherer's RBI triple broke the tie and gave the Indians their first lead in the sixth. That was followed by an RBI base hit from Joseph Heery, which extended the lead to 6-3."I knew he (Spartans pitcher Jacob Cassel) was really hitting the outside corners on me," noted Scherer. "Actually in my first at-bat he got me looking at strike three. I really knew he was going to force it outside on me. So I just waited for it to get deep into the strike zone and took it the other way."Then it was just a matter of Whiteman and the Lehighton pitching staff to get the final six outs. , Whiteman was one out away from a complete game, but after the Spartans tacked on one run and put two on in the seventh, Lehighton coach Brian Polaha called on senior Ben Cordova to close out ther win. Cordova came in and did just that, getting the final out to save the game.Whiteman pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and six hits, walking three and striking out four for the victory."Chris is only a freshmen and he showed some really great stuff out there," Scherer said. "He was poised and hit his spots. As he continues to grow he is going to be a good one."FRESHMAN PHENOM ... The bright lights of a District 11 semifinal against a higher seed didn't rattle freshman Whiteman, who had just one bad inning where he gave up three runs.SLOPPY PLAY ... Southern Lehigh did its best to help out the Lehighton offense, committing six errors, with a few of them costly, leading to runs.BOUNCE BACK ... The Indians (12-10) have had a bounce back year in 2016, winning nine more games than a year ago.THEY'RE BACK .... Lehighton's last appearance in the district championship game was in 2012, when it lost 3-0 to Blue Mountain.Lehighton 000 033 0 - 6 9 1So. Lehigh 000 300 1 - 4 6 6Whiteman, Cordova (7) and Scherer; Cassel, Murtaugh (6) and Amory. W-Whiteman. L-Cassel. S-Cordova.