Tamaqua coach Jeff Reading saw something in sophomore Owen Bates coming into this week of baseball. Bates had been hitting the ball well in his previous pinch hitting at bats, so Reading and his staff made the decision to make Bates an everyday hitter.

Since the move, Bates has made the veteran Raider coach look like a bonafied genius.Bates didn't disappoint on Friday as the super sophomore came up with two hits, including his first career home run, knocking in two runs. His efforts, along with a lot of offensive output from his teammates, helped the Raiders defeat Panther Valley, 10-1, for an important Schuylkill League victory.It's safe to say that Bates has solidified himself into the Raiders lineup."Coach Reading gave me an opportunity and I've been trying to make the best of it," said Bates. "I just want to help my team win ball games. I've just been guessing right up there at the plate and I've been hitting the ball pretty well."Bates wasn't the only Raider getting the job done at the plate.Tamaqua had seven other players get hits on the day. It's been a nice stretch of baseball lately for the Raiders, highlighted by a big win over perennial Schuylkill League power Blue Mountain on Wednesday."We've been really focused as of late and we've done a real good job of taking advantage of the opportunities other teams have given us," said Reading. "We've been real positive at the plate, we've been patient in waiting for our pitches, so we've been hitting better."Beating Blue Mountain the other day was big for us too. To come back and win in the seventh inning like that was a big confidence boost for us."The big inning for Tamaqua came in the third. Ten Tamaqua batters saw action in the inning as the Raiders scored five runs, extending their lead to 9-0. Matt Minchhoff, Connor Hartung, and Nate Macdonald all had hits in the inning, which included Owen Bates' homer. Macdonald came up with two RBIs and Adam Bates added an RBI in that stretch.Tamaqua junior Connor Hartung was key in the Raiders win as well.Hartung pitched a complete game, giving up just one run and one hit, which was a home run to PV's Mark Williams in the fifth inning.Hartung actually took a perfect game into the fifth, Williams in the fifth inning.Hartung actually took a perfect game into the fifth, retiring 12 straight batters."I felt really good today," said Hartung. "I just wanted to hit my spots and what was important for me today was that I threw a lot of first strike pitches. It was a good day today for us, we all hit well, and we're just playing good baseball."For Panther Valley, it's been the same aspect of the game that has plagued them throughout the season hitting."We're still really looking for our offense to break out," said Panther Valley coach John Cooper. "Even the games we've won, we haven't hit the ball that well. I don't think we've had more than six or seven hits in a game this year and it's tough to win that way. We just have to continue working at it and hope we get more hits."Tamaqua 215 100 1 - 10 12 1Panther Vy. 000 010 0 - 1 1 0Hartung and Roberts; Vavra, Hudicka (3), and Black. W - Hartung L - Vavra.