ORWIGSBURG - First, they had the lead.

Then they had momentum.And even after those two had faded, they had chances.What Jill Barron and her Tamaqua softball team didn't have, though, was a key hit.Hoping to claim a Schuylkill League Division 1 championship in Friday's tiebreaker game against Pottsville, the Blue Raiders instead dropped a 4-3 contest in eight innings to settle for the wild card spot."The girls played well, we just fell one hit short," said Barron. "If we get one in the bottom of the seventh there that's our game. We got the leadoff runner on but we just couldn't find (a hole)."We had it. We had the heart and the attitude from the beginning, but we were one hit shy."Tamaqua (16-5) gained a 3-1 lead after three innings, but the Tide battled back with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the score.The Raiders, who had runners on second and third and one out in the home fifth but failed to score, were given a golden opportunity to end the game in the bottom of the seventh.Shayna Dietrich singled to left to open the frame and advanced to second when the left fielder misplayed the ball. Carly Sassaman dropped a hit into short center, with Dietrich holding for fear of the ball being caught.Taylor Fritz, who was 3-for-3 up to that point, ripped a number of foul balls down the third base line before hitting a short fly to left-center. Pottsville shortstop Katie Deegan, however, made a nice running catch for the first out. The Tide's Michaela Garland followed Deegan's play with two stellar catches of her own at second base to preserve the tie game and send the contest into extra innings."We talk about the little things, the fundamentals," said Pottsville head coach Chuck Rinaldo. "When you have high school kids and they're playing in front of a big crowd, the nerves are rattled and yeah we made some mistakes. But we also talk about how to fight back to make up for a play. And that's what our kids did today."They didn't quit. We mishandled some balls but we also came back and made some tremendous plays that helped us get the win here today."In all, the Tide made six errors in the contest. But when the game was on the line, their execution was perfect.That execution was displayed in the game-winning rally in the seventh.Pottsville's No. 5 hitter Deegan got down 0-2 to the Raiders' Bailey Pedersen before poking a single up the middle. Olivia Moran followed with a perfect sacrifice bunt to mover her teammate into scoring position. After Pedersen got a pop out to short, Tide pitcher Sara Tobin poked a single just over first base into short right field to plate Deegan with the go-ahead run.Tobin, who didn't allow a run over her final five innings, tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth to preserve the victory and the Division 1 title."I definitely knew I had to make contact and get that run in," said Tobin of her third hit of the day. "I didn't want to go any more innings. I think I got stronger (in the circle) as I went on and the innings went on. I was pitching better and felt better."Tamaqua was feeling pretty good early on.After the Tide (16-5) took a 1-0 start on Tobin's RBI hit in the second, Bailey's Hartung's infield single in the home half chased in Fritz with the tying run.The Raiders gained a lead an inning later when Fritz's infield hit in the shortstop hole brought in Courtney Hoffman, who had also singled. Pedersen, who thought she had struck out on a 3-1 strike, returned to the plate and walked with the bases loaded to make it 3-1."We just couldn't do it today," said Barron. "They had key ... hits at certain times. And that's what got it for them. They're a good team, and they know how to execute. It's not over, though. We'll be back Monday."Tamaqua will face Division 2 champ Tri-Valley in Monday's Schuylkill League semifinal game at 3 p.m. at Blue Mountain. Following the contest, Pottsville will face Division 3's champ, Marian.Pottsville 010 110 01 - 4 12 6Tamaqua 012 000 00 - 3 9 4Tobin and Dusel; Pedersen and Sassaman. W - Tobin. L - Pedersen.