Tamaqua's Mason Ligenza on the mound in a 4-1 victory in a District 11 Class 4A semifinal baseball game Bethlehem Catholic on Sunday at Robert Wetzel Field (photo by Eli Doyle).

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — The job isn’t finished just yet.

To hear Tamaqua shortstop Cooper Ansbach tell it, there’s a quiet determination within the Blue Raiders to bring home a District 11 pennant.

They’ll get that opportunity Wednesday after grinding out a 4-1 victory over Bethlehem Catholic in Sunday’s Class 4A semifinal at North Schuylkill’s Robert Wetzel Field.

Tamaqua (21-1), the reigning Schuylkill League champion, rallied for three runs in the fifth and held the Golden Hawks (9-12) scoreless over the final two innings to seal the win. The Raiders will meet Northwestern Lehigh — a 2-0 winner over Saucon Valley — in the title game.

Tamaqua wasted no time striking first. In the bottom of the first inning, Mason Ligenza launched a fastball over the right-center field fence to give the Raiders an early 1-0 lead.

“It was a good way to start for our team,” said Ligenza, who also got the call on the mound and went 6.2 innings. The University of Pitt commit allowed four hits, two walks, and one earned run while striking out 10 in front of another strong contingent of MLB scouts. He was issued an intentional walk during Tamaqua’s fifth-inning rally.

“He’s probably the best kid, in the Valley and the area,” Bethlehem Catholic manager Matt Corsi said. “The home run set the tone. It was kind of funny — we said let him hit four home runs. If nobody’s on and he hits four solo homers, then we only have to score five.”

Ligenza did more damage with his arm. He mixed velocity with movement, working around tight strike zones and traffic on the bases to keep the Golden Hawks in check.

Bethlehem Catholic tied the game in the fourth. Joey Richards led off with a single and eventually came home on a one-out RBI single by Cayden Deegan. The Golden Hawks threatened to take the lead but ran themselves out of the inning when Ligenza picked off Bryce Blawn during a failed steal of home attempt, then recorded the third out to escape further damage.

Ligenza’s biggest moment came in the fifth. With the game tied 1-1, he worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam by striking out Deegan and Zach McCoy to end the threat.

“Mason got that extra kick there in that inning,” head coach Jeff Reading said. “He is such a quality player. He has patience, understands what is going on. He kept his composure and made his pitches a little better.”

Tamaqua took the lead for good in the home fifth. Maximus Najarro singled to left and Brayden Witkowski followed with a six-pitch walk. Ligenza was intentionally walked to load the bases. Yenser then grounded into a force play, scoring pinch runner Noah Steigerwalt for the go-ahead run. Kane followed with an RBI single and Ansbach added a base hit to make it 3-1. Two more walks, including one to Noah Mateyak, pushed the lead to 4-1.

Ligenza reached his 105-pitch limit in the seventh and exited with two outs. Ansbach came on in relief and retired the final batter to lock down the win.

“They’re an aggressive team. They can swing it,” Reading said, recalling last year’s postseason loss to Bethlehem Catholic. “It was on our minds, so that made them a bit more hungry to get ‘em back. Having a rematch, a new season was on our mind and one of our goals — to get to the (district) championship…”

Now they’re there. One win remains.

District 11 Baseball
Class 4A Semifinals

Robert Wetzel Field (North Schuylkill)