POTTSVILLE — Landon Trout did it all.

The Pottsville sophomore tossed a complete game and added a key two-run home run at the plate as the Crimson Tide defeated Panther Valley 6-1 in a Schuylkill League Division I ballgame Thursday in dreary weather conditions at Steidle Field.

“We knew coming in it was going to be a battle,” Pottsville coach Mike Welsh said. “We figured those guys (Danny Wehr, Brody Breiner) would be on the mound somewhere in there, and we tried to prepare the best we could yesterday for it.”

In a game that started as a pitchers’ duel, both teams were held in check early.

The Panthers’ Wehr racked up strikeouts and kept Pottsville off balance through the first two innings, while Trout matched him on the other side.

Pottsville broke through in the third. Dom Rynard sparked the inning with a double to right field, and the Tide took advantage of a Panther miscue to plate two runs and grab a 2-0 lead.

Brody Eroh and Rynard started the two-out rally in the third with back-to-back doubles, followed by a throwing error on a dropped third strike that saw Rynard score from second base.

The Crimson Tide added to that advantage in the fourth when Christian Alvarez delivered an RBI groundout to extend the lead. Harrison Ciavarella reached on an error with one out, stole second base, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on Alvarez’s opposite-field groundout.

Panther Valley got on the board in the fifth. Carson Jones singled and later came around to score on an RBI from Derek Lazar to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Pottsville answered in a big way in the sixth.

Ciavarella and Trout delivered back-to-back home runs, part of a three-run frame that broke the game open and gave the Tide breathing room at 6-1.

“I’m happy for those guys,” Welsh said. “Those are big moments for those guys. I believe it was their first varsity home runs. That is pretty neat.”

From there, Trout took over. The right-hander scattered just two hits over seven innings, allowing one run while striking out six and walking one. He worked efficiently, limiting Panther Valley’s chances and closing out the complete-game victory.

“It was big for us in a lot of ways,” Welsh said of Trout. “As a sophomore, we know what he is capable of. He’s got a very, very bright future in this game, and he was very efficient in this game. He had one long inning — I think it was the second inning — but he was very efficient, and our defense did a very good job of backing him on a tough defensive day when the ball is going to be wet and the infield and stuff like that.”

“I just went out there in the last inning and said, ‘Do you want to finish this thing here? You’re at 99 pitches?’ And he said, ‘Yes, of course.’ He’s just a battler; he’s a competitive kid. And Harrison is doing a heck of a job for us — he’s learning on the fly a little bit. We’re just proud of their effort overall.”

At the plate, Eroh led Pottsville with two hits, while Trout and Rynard each drove in runs. Ciavarella scored twice and added a home run in the decisive sixth inning.

Wehr took the loss for Panther Valley despite a strong effort, striking out nine over five innings while allowing three runs, two earned.

Jones accounted for both Panther Valley hits, finishing 2-for-3, while Lazar drove in the Panthers’ lone run.

Pottsville finished with six hits and took advantage of Panther Valley errors and timely power to secure the win, improving to 2-0 in league play.