Ligenza, Raiders top Thorpe

Young gun.

Tamaqua sophomore lefthander Tate Ligenza took the mound on Monday looking to earn his first varsity victory against Schuylkill League Division 1 foe Jim Thorpe.

All the youngster did was carve his way through the Olympians lineup with masterful control, striking out nine en route to a 9-2 Blue Raiders win.

Thorpe (2-4) started the first with a Noah Snisky leadoff single, but Ligenza wasted no time settling in after that, pitching six straight shutout innings, and allowing just two more hits during that span.

“Their pitcher was really good today, credit has to go to him,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Joe Marykwas. “He threw a lot of first ball strikes, and that put us into little bit of a hole, and then he was around the plate all day long, and had a nice mix.”

The Tamaqua offense had Ligenza’s back throughout the afternoon, as it gave the sophomore a cushion early.

The Raiders (2-1) got to Thorpe’s pitching from the onset, coming through with six hits and two runs over the first three innings. Mike Bonetsky drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single in the second, and Isaiah Kupchinsky added an RBI single in the third.

Ligenza’s efficiency from the mound and the Raiders continuous pressure from the plate had them firmly in control, heading into the fourth.

The way the game was going it was just a matter of time until the Raiders had a big inning — and they did in the fourth. Nate Boyle, Thad Zuber, Casey Rother, and Brayden Knoblauch all knocked in runs in the fourth to extend the Raiders lead to 6-0.

Tamaqua carried its offensive momentum into the fifth when it added three more runs to put the game out of reach. Zuber had the big hit of the inning, bringing in two runs with two outs.

“All in all, I’m really pleased how our guys played today,” said Tamaqua head coach Jeff Reading. “We had a great outing by Tate Ligenza, who picked up his first varsity win. He had really good command of all three of his pitches, and then on the offensive end our approach at the plate was really good. We were patient, waited on the off speed stuff, and took it the other way.

“It’s a good start to league play, now we need to stay focused and get prepared for Blue Mountain here on Wednesday.”

The Olympians, who didn’t get much done from the plate during the day, did battle a bit in the seventh.

Evan Dart came through with two RBIs for Thorpe and Lucas Boyle collected his second hit of the game in the inning as well. Knoblauch came in to finish for Ligenza, striking out the last Olympian batter to end the game.

“Right now, we just need to be more consistent hitting the ball, we haven’t put the ball in play as much as we have wanted to,” said Marykwas. “But I like how we competed. We just have to keep getting better.”

BIG BATS ... Zuber led the Raiders with three hits and three RBIs. Knoblauch and Boyle came through with two hits apiece. Lucas Boyle led Thorpe with two hits.

BLOWING IT OPEN ... The fourth and fifth were the big innings on the day for Tamaqua. During that span, Tamaqua scored seven runs on five hits.

Jim Thorpe 000 000 2 - 2 4 2

Tamaqua 011 430 x - 9 11 1

Edwards, Pompa (5), Binder (6) and Schwartz; Ligenza, Knoblauch (7) and Rother. W - Ligenza. L - Edwards.