HAMBURG Most of the time dazzling pitching and power hitting assures wins for baseball teams.

It didn't for Tamaqua Legion Wednesday night.Hamburg was just as lethal on the mound and hit the ball pretty solidly. It was a passed ball with a runner in scoring position that made the difference between the evenly matched clubs and let the Reds escape with a 2-1 win in the opening round of the Schuylkill-Berks League tournament.Tamaqua will face Oley/Topton today in the double-elimination competition at 5:30 p.m.The contest was an incredible pitching duel most of the night.Tamaqua's Nate MacDonald proved terrific on the mound, allowing just four hits and three walks. The opposing pitcher, though, had an even better night.Head Coach Todd Heisler of the Blue Sox termed Hamburg hurler Ryan Atkinson "phenomenal.""I think their pitcher (MacDonald) and our pitcher threw the ball very well," said Nick Evangelista, the coach for the Reds. "Our pitcher executed very well and threw them off balance. He mixed it up throwing fast balls, sliders and change-ups. He got key outs on sliders."Atkinson allowed just two hits. The first one by Tamaqua wasn't until the sixth inning. The second was in the seventh just before he was pulled from the game with two outs."He's the difference in the game," said Evangelista.The game was played under the lights on Chief Master Sergeant Richard Etchberger Field in Hamburg.The Blue Sox (8-11 overall, 6-10 in league) scored in the top of the first inning.Hamburg (25-9, 16-3 in league) evened things in the bottom of the third.In the bottom of the sixth, Kyle Nye walked for Hamburg, made it to third on a double by Tyler Seidel, and then scored on the passed ball.Coach Heisler was very pleased with the defense that supported MacDonald."They had the bases loaded and nobody out (in the fourth)," Heisler said of Hamburg. "And no runs scored. The next inning, they had the bases loaded again." The second time was when the passed ball happened.In the first inning, Atkinson walked Tamaqua's Pete Baddick. MacDonald was then hit by a pitch, sending Baddick to second. Baddick advanced to third when Matt Roberts struck out but wasn't tagged, forcing Hamburg to make the play at first base.The score became 1-0 when Baddick scored on a fielder's choice play.MacDonald looked un-stoppable over the first two innings. He tossed just 16 pitches in the two frames and did not allow a runner on base.Hamburg tied the game in the bottom of the third when Austin Schlenker walked, got to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Jansen Youndt's double.Six Tamaqua batters hit the ball deep into the outfield, "but they were always to somebody," Heisler said. There was no fence at the Hamburg field but had there been, at least one of those hits likely would have been gone.Tamaqua 100 000 0 - 1 2 1Hamburg 001 010 x - 2 4 1MacDonald and Rother; Atkinson, Smith (7) and Youndt. W - Atkinson. L - MacDonald.