Setlock delivered on the mound as Blue Mountain walked off against North Schuylkill 2-1 in a Schuylkill League Division I baseball game Thursday at Allen Greenawalt Field.

“It was a pitchers’ duel,” Blue Mountain coach Jarrod Kramer said. “I thought Stephen Minahan did an awesome job. I thought Evan Setlock showed why he’s our number one pitcher. I think he beat North Schuylkill here last season 1-0. He was very efficient, throwing strikes, throwing multiple pitches for strikes, and getting out of trouble when they threatened a handful of times.”

In a game dominated by pitching, Setlock, a senior, delivered a complete-game performance, scattering five hits and allowing just one run while striking out five.

The senior right-hander worked efficiently throughout, stranding runners and keeping North Schuylkill from building any sustained momentum.

Across the diamond, North Schuylkill’s Minahan was just as impressive. The right-hander carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, working around four walks while striking out six. He kept Blue Mountain guessing all afternoon and gave the Spartans a chance to steal one late before reaching his 100-pitch limit.

North Schuylkill threatened in the top of the sixth inning after Chase Slotcavage worked a leadoff walk and Hunter Rogers followed with a single down the first-base line. Setlock worked out of the inning for the Eagles with back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to Frankie Russo at third base.

Blue Mountain finally broke through in the bottom half of the sixth inning after Aiden Finn reached base on a walk and stole second to move into scoring position. Brady Strause followed with a dribbler in the infield that served as a swinging bunt, moving Finn to third. Cohen Kirby then lifted a sacrifice fly to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

North Schuylkill answered in the top of the seventh. Landon Smith started things off with a walk, and after advancing to second on a wild pitch, Dylan Cairo bounced a ball to the left of Setlock for a groundout, but advanced Smith one bag closer to tying things up.

Aaron Brayford lined a clutch RBI single to center to tie the game at 1-1.

That set the stage for a dramatic finish.

In the bottom half, Blue Mountain showed patience at the plate.

Setlock led off with a single up the middle and Ethan Hartman came on as a courtesy runner. The Eagles followed with back-to-back flyouts to left fielder Dylan Cairo. On the second out, Cairo made a full-body diving catch right on the third-base line to take away a Ryan Clemas hit if the ball had stayed fair.

Josh Hoover continued the inning with a single to center before Riley Sebastian and Finn drew back-to-back walks, forcing in the winning run and sending the Eagles off with a walk-off victory at home.

“That is what I am the proudest of,” Kramer said of the Eagles’ resiliency. “We didn’t pack it in because we had a runner on first with two outs there in the final inning. Josh got the hit, Riley drew a walk and Finn got the game-winning walk. A lot of high school baseball teams with two outs, a runner on first and the nine hitter up, would have packed it up. But those three had great at-bats and that allowed us to save some pitches with Setty (Setlock) for the weekend.”

Despite the loss, North Schuylkill had opportunities. The Spartans put runners on base in multiple innings but were unable to deliver the key hit until the seventh. Rogers led the way with two hits, while Brayford accounted for the lone, clutch RBI.

Blue Mountain managed just two hits on the day — one each from Setlock and Hoover — but made the most of its chances by drawing walks and executing situationally.

For Blue Mountain, the win continued a strong start to the season, while for North Schuylkill, it was a tough first loss in a game that featured two standout performances on the mound.

“We have good team chemistry and good senior leadership,” Kramer said. “We have a lot of unselfish guys on this team. They come here and work hard every day, and I know that’s cliché, but they really do. They see that the things that we’re talking to them about are working. The captains and seniors are setting a great example.”