Last weekend in the District 18 10-11 year-old Little League championship game, Tamaqua's offense finally clicked and exploded late in the ball game.

That clutch characteristic seemed to have carried over to its first round match up in Section 6 tournament play when it hosted Pennridge.Tamaqua was clinging to a 3-2 lead heading into the final inning after Pennridge's Blake Stewart delivered a fifth-inning RBI single.But Tamaqua exploded for six critical runs to help ensure the 9-2 victory.Caleb Mushock led off the Tamaqua sixth inning with a single and moved over to third base on two passed balls to get the party started. Ian Davis brought him in thanks to some sloppy Pennridge fielding. Brian Milot next smashed a double off the left center field wall.Some more fielding blunders by Pennridge led to a few more runners crossing the plate. Carson Krell followed with a two-run triple to cap the big frame."We were hitting the ball the entire game and we kept putting it in play," said Tamaqua head coach Mike Van Buskirk. "We continued to be resilient and find the gaps and holes in the field."Brian Milot's double in the midst of the huge inning wasn't the only way he contributed, as he took the mound and pitched two inning in relief as well."He's been playing outstanding," said Van Buskirk. "He's got a good glove and he's confident on the mound and at the plate. Our entire team is confident and looking forward to their next at bat."Tamaqua used three pitchers in Milot, Dante Agosti, and Joel Schelhammer. They combined to yield just two walks and six hits while striking out seven."Everyone contributed in some way," Van Buskirk said. "We had a lot of two-out hits when we needed them especially in the sixth inning. Our team has collectively been coming through in the clutch throughout the post season."Pennridge head coach Dave Tatoian and his ballclub are still alive in the double elimination tournament."Tamaqua is a team that plays very good baseball," Tatoian said. "We shut them down the first inning but they came right back swinging at first pitch strikes. We made more errors tonight than we probably have in the past 15 games."We're going to have to stay away from the errors and come back fighting hard tomorrow. The loser's bracket isn't the best place in the world, but it's good to still be playing baseball."Tamaqua will play at 7:30 tonight in the winner's bracket final of the four-team tournament and Van Buskirk believes his kids are determined to keep the offense rolling."I told the kids we already won one game of sectionals and we're district champs," said Van Buskirk. "I told them we could walk away now or not be satisfied with where we are. It seems to me that they want to keep playing baseball."Tamaqua 020 106 - 9 9 1Pennridge 100 010 - 2 6 3Schelhammer, Milot(4), Agosti (6) and Wickersham. Dubois, Nick Splain (3), Johnson (6), Will Rawa (6) and Parker. W - Schelhammer. L - Dubois.