There might be a tree missing from the Blue Mountain.

There’s a good chance Tyler Wiik is using it to slug home runs for the Northern Valley Legion baseball team.

No one knows if the Chargers catcher actually yelled “timber” when he swung the lumber that propelled the Chargers to a 5-2 victory over the Carbon Monarchs in Lehigh Valley Legion action Thursday night, but he could have since the ball from his solo shot in the sixth inning is probably still careening down the mountain near Lehighton.

Wiik’s blast to right-center ignited a four-run inning that broke open what had been a fine pitcher’s duel between the Monarch’s Michael Bozilesky and Mason Vogwill of the Chargers.

“I was just looking for a pitch to drive, and I got it,” Wiik said. “Bozilesky did a good job of mixing up speeds. He kept us off-balance the first couple of innings.” Indeed, after surrendering a first-inning run on an RBI single by Derek Holmes, Bozilesky did settle down nicely. He mixed some sharp-breaking off-speed pitches with a zippy fastball to string together four scoreless innings before Wiik’s blast started the barrage. Holmes followed Wiik with a walk and stolen base before scoring on a line shot down the right field line by Zack Stanley. Eric Nothstein then scored on an error, and Stanley crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice to complete the four-run sixth for the Monarchs.

Northern Valley coach Brad Rauch echoed Wiik’s sentiments about his backstop’s home run.

“It was game-changing. It turned things around,” Rauch said. “Things were iffy there for a while.”

Wiik also contributed a walk, threw out a would-be base-stealer, and provided a steadying glove behind the plate for both Charger pitchers — Vogwill and Ryan King.

For his Johnny Bench-like efforts, Wiik was named The Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Player of the Game. A team player, Wiik credited teammates like Trevor Schreiner, who contributed a base knock to go with several stellar plays in center field. Wiik also lauded the glove-popping fastball of Vogwill, his starter pitcher.

The Monarchs led early, scoring a run in the third on an error, and added another run in the fourth when Brad Buzzard hit a single up the middle, and later scored when Zach Searfoss coaxed a bases-loaded walk. The Monarchs’ fourth-inning uprising knocked the hard-throwing Vogwill out of the game.

King took over at that point and managed to shut the Monarchs down the rest of the way.

At that point, Bozeilesky was cruising along with a 2-1 lead, until Wiik broke out the lumber in the sixth.

Interestingly, despite the presence of his slugging catcher, Rauch doesn’t expect home runs to be as plentiful in the league this season since the entire league has gone to wood bats.

“We’ve become a wood bat league,” Rauch said. “I expect us to become a team of line drive hitters, a team that hits in the gaps. A lot of the fly outs we will level out.”

In addition to Wiik, the Chargers skipper lauded the pitching efforts of both Vogwill and King. In fact, Rauch likes the makeup of his entire squad, “We have a nice mix of experienced kids back and some good new players,” he said.

LATE START ... Due to Northwestern High School’s run in the state playoffs, the Chargers (1-1) have only played two games.

LOSING STREAK ... After starting the season by winning two of their first three games, the Monarchs (2-6) have now lost five straight.

BUSY STRETCH ... Northern Valley plays Lower Macungie on Saturday, then will enter a stretch of 18 games in 20 days. With so many games in such a short amount of time, Rauch wants the team to focus on staying upbeat, healthy and focused.

Northern Valley 100 004 0 – 5 6 1

Carbon 001 100 0 – 2 5 2

Vogwill, King (4) and Wiik; Bozilesky, Mahmde (6) and Taras. W - Vogwill. L – Bozilesky. HR: NV – Wiik (6th, none on).