PINE GROVE Some wins are of the conventional, rather predictable variety.

Others are a bit more unusual, with circumstances that are highly remarkable playing a role in the outcome.The result of Tuesday's Schuylkill-Berks Legion League North Division winners' bracket contest was of the latter.Tied at 1-1 in the third inning, Pine Grove brought attention to the use of an illegal bamboo bat being used by a Tamaqua player.The use of the bat, which is prohibited in Legion play, resulted in the batter being called out, which ended the top half of the third.After further discussion between the umpires, both coaches and league officials on site and over the phone, it was determined that the use of the bat required the immediate ejection of the player.To further complicate matters, Tamaqua was utilizing the designated hitter and had only 10 players, with none remaining on the bench. That forced an undermanned Blue Sox squad to forfeit the game, giving Pine Grove a 7-0 win.The sudden defeat halts the momentum the Blue Sox (4-15) had created coming into the contest, winning the last game of the regular season and two consecutive playoff games to get to this point.Tamaqua coach Todd Heisler stressed that the use of the bat wasn't done intentionally; it was simply a matter of misunderstanding the rules."You live and learn," Heisler said. "I would have never left him use it if I would have known. It's a tough one to lose."The Tamaqua offense looked to be coming to life prior to the premature stoppage, as the Blue Sox took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Josh Zehner's RBI single to left field that drove in Peter Baddick, who walked and stole second.Pine Grove answered with a run in the bottom of the second on Nick Cataldo's RBI single to tie the score at 1.The victory was bittersweet for Pine Grove coach Frank D'Agostino. It was actually his third baseman who noticed it and brought it to his attention."I knew it was illegal, but there was a little bit of hesitation initially," D'Agostino said of the situation. "I was thinking back to when I was young with Sammy Sosa and a corked bat. It exploded there on the field, and that's why he got ejected."That's why I went out and talked (to the umpires). Then they were going to say, 'Just keep going.' With pitching and everything, I said, 'If I protest I'm probably going to win.' The umpires agreed with me. They had to go look it up right there at that point and see what the rule was."With the victory, the Grovers (15-2-1) advance to a winners' bracket game against either Valley View or Schuylkill Valley at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Stump Stadium."I don't feel great about it," D'Agostino said. "I don't know if anybody would. It's a rule. You've got to play by the same rules. They're in there to abide by them, and it just so happened that that's the way it happened. It is what it is."Now, Tamaqua must regroup and prepare to face either Minersville or Valley View Thursday in the losers' bracket. No matter the circumstances, Heisler feels good about what his team's capable of."During the season, many times, I didn't have regular players for some reason or another," Heisler said. "And, I gave everybody equal playing time because the regular season didn't matter. You've gotta win now."Now I'm playing my best guys all the time and they're coming through; they're getting hot. We're not done yet."