Tamaqua's Peyton Faust attempts a bunt during Tuesday's non-league game at Marian. The Fillies' catcher is Hailey Treskolasky. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

HOMETOWN — It’s no secret that Tamaqua struggled at the plate last season.

So the Blue Raiders went to work during the offseason and preseason, trying to turn a weakness into a strength.

If Tuesday’s season opener against Marian is any indication, Tamaqua will be a lot more dangerous swinging the bats this spring.

The Blue Raiders banged out 13 hits and scored in five innings to outlast the Fillies 9-4 in a non-league softball game on the Marian campus.

“I was real pleased with the hitting today,” Tamaqua coach Tony Zancofsky said. “We’ve been working very hard on our hitting this year. … As we came into the beginning of the season, that was our goal, to do a lot of hitting and not look at pitches for strikeouts. … If we continue to hit, we should be in a lot of games this year.”

After taking 1-0 lead on Addison Krall’s RBI groundout in the first inning, Tamaqua (1-0) bunched five hits and two errors to bat around in the third inning, scoring five more runs for a 6-0 lead. Marian (1-1) made two errors that would have ended the inning, and Tamaqua made the Fillies pay. Ceanna Gormley roped a two-run double, and Megan Linkhorst followed with an RBI double to break the game open.

Nine different girls had at least one hit for Tamaqua, with Kolbe Robb going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run scored and one RBI. Leah Crowley added a single, a triple and an RBI, and Nico Conahan contributed a single, two runs scored and an RBI.

Freshman pitchers Peyton Faust and Noami Knitter combined on a five-hitter. Faust went the first 4.1 innings to pick up the win. She allowed two earned runs on three hits and struck out seven. Knitter gave up one run and two hits in 2.2 innings of relief.

“They came and jumped into a role that’s tough to do in high school softball,” Zancofsky said of his freshman hurlers. “The seniors took them under their wings, and the seniors are excited about the pitching. It’s going to be a rotation between the two of them, and that’s how we’re going to go.”

Marian tried to rally, but the deficit proved too large. Gracie Sendatch hit a two-run single in the fifth inning and scored on a passed ball to cut Tamaqua’s lead to 7-3. DeAnna Pugh added an RBI single in the seventh.

“They didn’t hang their heads,” Marian coach Lyndsey Reinoehl said. “Not at all. … They kept fighting the whole time, talking to each other, cheering each other on.”

Game Summary

TAMAQUA (9) — Conahan ss 3 2 1 1, Robb 2b 3 1 2 1, Krall c 4 0 0 1, Bamford cr 0 1 0 0, Gormley 1b 4 2 2 2, Linkhorst rf 4 0 2 1, Crowley 3b 4 0 2 1, Sitlinger cf 4 0 0 0, Scott lf 3 0 1 0, Faust p 1 1 1 1, Evans cr-ph 1 1 1 0, Knitter 1 1 1 0. Totals 32 9 13 7.

MARIAN (4) — Sendatch cf-rf 4 1 1 2, Pugh 2b 4 0 1 1, Treskolasky c 3 0 0 0, Letcher ss 2 0 1 0, Birrer 3b-p 2 0 0 0, Barron ph 0 0 0 0, Upanavage p-cf 2 0 0 0, Karlick 1b 3 0 1 0, Erickson pr 0 1 0 0, Cannon rf 1 0 0 0, Turano 3b 2 0 0 0, Katona lf 2 2 1 0. Totals 25 4 5 3.

Tam (1-0)                105      101   1 — 9

Mar (1-1)              000      030   1 — 4

E — Tamaqua 0, Marian 2

DP — None

LOB — Tamaqua 4, Marian 4

2B — Gormley, Linkhorst, Evans

3B — Crowley, Knitter, Letcher

SB — Conahan, Robb 2, Bamford, Katona 2, Turano, Birrer

CS — Crowley, Pugh

S — Robb

Tamaqua

                                       IP     H      R       ER    BB    K

Faust W,1-0             4.1       3       3       2       3       7

Knitter                      2.2      2       1       1       1       2

Marian

                  IP     H      R       ER    BB    K

Upanavage L,1-1     4       7       7        2       1       5

Birrer                       3       6       2       2       0       0

WP — Faust. PB — Krall. T — 1:59.

Pine Grove 12, Minersville 4

MINERSVILLE — Madison Shiffer went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, three runs scored and four RBIs to power Pine Grove to a non-league win over Minersville at Ken Schneck Field.

Callee Leffler added a single, a triple, three runs scored and an RBI for the Cardinals, who jumped out to a 10-1 lead after three innings. Hannah Aungst had a single, a double and three runs scored, while Addison Zimmerman was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

For Minersville, Grace Sterner went 3-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs. Bella Rizzardi, Payton Frantz and Sara McGrath added two hits apiece for the Miners. One of Rizzardi’s hits was a double.

PG (1-0)                    235      011   0 — 12        13       0      

Min (0-2)                  001      021   0 — 4        9       4

Dinger, Clark (5) and Bohr; Laudeman, O’Brien (3) and McGrath. W— Dinger (1-0). L — Laudeman (0-2).

HITS: Pine Grove — Leffler 2, Aungst 2, Shiffer 3, Zimmerman 2, Dinger, Clark, Bohr, Umbenhauer. Minersville — Rizzardi 2, Sterner 3, Frantz 2, McGrath 2.

2B — Shiffer, Zimmerman, Umbenhauer, Aungst, Sterner, Rizzardi. 3B — Leffler. HR — Shiffer.

Blue Mountain 25, Governor Mifflin 3

SHILLINGTON — Addison Fishburn went 4-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, four runs scored and an RBI to lead Blue Mountain to a non-league romp.

Courtney Cavadini added a single, a double and five RBIs for the Eagles. Carla Boyer went 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs; Da’Shawna Vincent tripled and knocked in three runs and scored three times. Emily Leonard, who pitched two innings of relief, contributed a double and three RBIs. Emmerson Frie and Karley Koch had two hits, two runs and two RBIs apiece. One of Frie’s hits was a double.

BM (2-0)                    (12)3(10) — 25        18       0      

GM (0-2)                  2      0    1   — 3          4       2

Brown, Leonard (2) and Cavadini; Brunelli, Addis (2) and Diaz. W— Brown (2-0). L — Brunelli.

HITS: Blue Mountain — Fishburn 4, Peel, Borden, Vincent, Cavadini 2, Boyer 2, Blehm, Frie 2, Koch 2, Brown, Leonard. Governor Mifflin — Brunelli, Diaz 2, Addis.

2B — Cavadini, Brown, Fishburn, Leonard, Boyer, Frie. 3B — Vincent. HR — Brunelli.

Fleetwood 7, Pottsville 6

POTTSVILLE — Lana Cromyak singled and knocked in two runs for Pottsville, but Fleetwood held on for a non-league win at the CACL Complex.

Trailing 5-0, the Crimson Tide scored six runs in the fifth inning to take the lead. The Tigers came back with two runs in the sixth to go ahead to stay.

Peyton Eckert doubled and drove in a run for Pottsville.

Fleet (2-0)                    020      122   0 — 7        14       4      

Potts (1-1)                  000      060   x — 6        5       2

Breidegam and Koehler; Eckert and Wessner. W— Breidegam. L — Eckert (1-1).

HITS: Fleetwood — Koehler 2, Santangelo 2, Rauenzahn 3, Trexler 3, Guldner, Breidegam 2, Nied. Pottsville — Cromyak, Scanlan, Eckert, Wessner, Kunstek.

2B — Rauenzahn, Santangelo, Trexler, Koehler, Nied, Eckert.

Tri-Valley 12, Southern Columbia 1

HEGINS — Ellie Dunkelberger went 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI as Tri-Valley routed Southern Columbia in its season opener.

Olivia Witmer went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs for the Bulldogs, while Cassi Snyder was 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.

Freshman pitcher Myah Schwalm helped herself by going 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI. Lydia Rodichok added two RBIs for Tri-Valley.

In the circle, Schwalm tossed five innings, allowing two hits and one run. She struck out six and walked none.

SC (1-2)                    010      00 — 1        2       5      

TV (1-0)                  011      37 — 12        14       0

Southern Columbia pitcher, catcher not reported; My. Schwalm and L. Rodichok. W— My. Schwalm (1-0). L — Not reported.

HITS: Southern Columbia — Not reported. Tri-Valley — Snyder 2, Artz, Ma. Schwalm, Witmer 3, My. Schwalm 2, L. Rodichok, Dunkelberger 3, Leonard.

2B — Witmer 2. 3B — Dunkelberger.

Mahanoy Area 13, Nativity 3

MAHANOY CITY — Lilly Carl went 2-for-2 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBIs to power Mahanoy Area to victory in the season opener for both teams.

Carl also pitched four innings to earn the win in the circle.

Naomi Kowalick went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while Urijah Fazio doubled, scored three runs and knocked in two for the Golden Bears. Cadance Poslosky had a 2-for-3 day with a double, two runs and two RBIs for Mahanoy Area, which broke the game open with a seven-run third inning.

Mia Haas had a single and an RBI for Nativity.

Nat (0-1)                    010      11 — 3        3       2      

Mah (1-0)                  147      1x — 13        8       1

Covell, Rushannon (3), Haas (4) and Clark; Carl, Kennedy (5) and Mroczka. W— Carl (1-0). L — Covell (0-1).

HITS: Nativity — Haas, Clark, Jansson. Mahanoy Area — Mroczka, Poslosky 2, Kowalick 2, Carl 2, Fazio.

2B — Fazio, Kowalick, Poslosky. 3B — Carl.

Weatherly 18, Col-Mon Vo-Tech 3

WEATHERLY — Molly Kislan went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored as Weatherly rolled past Col-Mon Vo-Tech in three innings in non-league action.

Abby Teodorescu tripled, drove in three runs and scored twice for the Wreckers, who scored 13 runs in the first inning. Rachel Rosenlund had a single, two runs and two RBIs, while Abby Weston scored three runs and stole three bases.

Rebecca Caldwell earned the win in the circle with three innings of four-hit work. She walked just two, while CMVT’s pitching issued 14 walks.

CMVT (0-2)                    2   0   1 — 3        4       1      

Weath (1-0)                  (13)23 — 18        5       0

Cornell and Nevius; Caldwell and Teodorescu. W— Caldwell (1-0). L — Cornell.

HITS: Col-Mon Vo-Tech — Guyer, Wallace, Sheatler, Bodman. Weatherly — Marasco, Rosenlund, Teodorescu, Kislan 2.

3B — Teodorescu.