The Tamaqua baseball team has proven it can win low-scoring, close games.

On Thursday, the Blue Raiders showed what they could do when their bats come to life.After opening the season with two one-run victories, Tamaqua's offense erupted in a big way against Panther Valley en route to a 9-1 non-league victory."With baseball, you need one more run than the other team," said Tamaqua head coach Jeff Reading. "Whether it's 1-0 or 9-1, a win is a win."But for the first six innings, it looked very much like the Blue Raiders (3-0), who topped Hamburg 1-0 on Wednesday, were going to be headed for another tight finish.A Russell Blaker RBI single scored Owen Bates in the second inning to give Tamaqua the early 1-0 advantage.But that was all the offense either side would produce until the top of the seventh, when the Blue Raiders put the game away with eight runs, highlighted by Casey Rother's two-run homer."I want to say patience at the plate and guys focusing better (was the difference)," said Reading. "They saw Panther Valley's pitcher (Anthony Micholik) a couple of times, and he had done a fabulous job of keeping our guys off balance up to that point."I don't know if we weren't swinging at good pitches or were anxious trying to get something going. Sometimes you press too much and lose focus on what you want to do and not swing at the best pitch. But I think there was more focus in that inning."Jeff Banditelli, in as a pinch hitter, started the rally with a one-out bloop single to right field. Thad Zuber (2-for-3, one run scored), Daylon Barron (2-for-4, one RBI) and Zach Coleman (1-for-3, two RBIs) followed with three straight singles.Following a groundout, Rother slammed the ball over the left field wall to give Tamaqua a 6-0 lead before the Blue Raiders batted around and added three more runs."They always say that hits and errors are contagious," Reading said. "It's good to be on the hits-side."When one guy comes up and gets a hit, and another one gets a hit, it helps to get everyone into a little bit of a rhythm and helps to build that confidence. I was glad to see that we were able to do that and not make it a one-run game."The Panthers (0-2) threatened to even the score after the Blue Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Matt Hudicka (1-for-3) opened the bottom of the frame with a single and Tristan Blasko followed with a walk.A groundout by designated hitter Mike Hutt moved Hudicka and Blasko into scoring position, but the Panthers were unable to cash-in on the opportunity."We couldn't get that key hit. We couldn't get that timely hit," said Panther Valley head coach Rich Evanko. "We were trying to make stuff happen by bunting for base hits and moving guys over."We were trying to put pressure on them. In a 1-0 game, you're trying to do anything to make them make a mistake."Tamaqua starting pitcher Brady Akins settled in from there, allowing only four more hits before giving way to Thad Zuber with one out in the sixth.Panther Valley scored its lone run in the bottom of the seventh when Micholik (1-for-2, one walk) ripped a single that scored pinch runner Aaron Miller.CLOSE CALLS … Before topping Hamburg 1-0, Tamaqua defeated Northwestern 7-6 in its season-opener March 26.SEASON OF FIRSTS … Evanko will undoubtedly look forward to many milestone moments in his first year as Panther Valley's head coach. Thursday offered one such instance, as Evanko coached his first game at home.BACK IN ACTION … Tamaqua will take the field on Saturday at Daniel Boone High School at 1 p.m. Panther Valley will host Lincoln Leadership Academy Saturday at 3 p.m.Tamaqua 010 000 8 - 9 11 0Panther Vy. 000 000 1 - 1 5 2Akins, Zuber (6), Evans (7) and Rother; Micholik, Hudicka (7) and M. Goida. HR - Rother (7th, one on). W - Akins. L - Micholik.