The maiden voyage for Lansford in the junior division of the Schuylkill Teener League has been pretty much smooth sailing. The team finished in second place during the regular season and had just three losses.

On Tuesday, the team had one of its best offensive showings of the year, cruising to a 16-4 win over Schuylkill Valley in the semifinal round of the league playoffs. The win propels Lansford into the championship finals against Hegins, a team which hasn’t lost in the past two seasons.

Lansford didn’t begin the game with its normal polish. It sputtered in the top of the first inning. The combination of errors and walks allowed the Falcons to enjoy a brief 3-0 lead.

But words of wisdom from Lansford head coach Tim Goida seemed to be all that was needed to have his players regroup.

“When they came off the field I got them together and I said, ‘That’s it. That’s all we’re giving them.’ And they really stepped up defensively,” said Goida.

It’s true Lansford displayed stellar defense the rest of the game, but there’s also no overlooking the offensive fireworks Goida’s team displayed.

While some of the the Falcons’ problems were errors, eight of Lansford’s players reached base. Five of the Krajcirik-sponsored team had hits.

Chase Weaver, Hayden Goida, Stephen Hood and Mike Pascoe each had two hits while Tyler Black had one. Of those hits, Hood had a triple while Pascoe had a double. Hood’s triple came with the bases loaded. He had four RBIs in the game, while Pascoe had three.

“He’s been hot lately,” said Goida of Pascoe. “He’s hitting the ball. He hits it on the line. Here’s a kid that does whatever we ask him to do. I’m proud of everybody today.

“Hayden, he’s coming back from a little back injury and said he’s ready to go. The way Stephen Hood is hitting the ball the other way, the way Tyler Black roams center field, it’s a sense of security when you’re on the mound or on the field. I’m not taking anything away from anybody else. Chase Weaver has been phenomenal the last few games and when he’s ready to go, there’s not too many kids who are better than him. I’m very excited for the next step.”

Not only have the results been impressive, but the player’s approach at the plate has to be admired.

“I tried to step up in the box and hit the other way because they were shifting, so I tried to get it down the gap,” said Hood about his triple.

Schuylkill Valley head coach Paul Matlock didn’t come away with a victory, but he noted that his team made great strides this year after going 0-20 last season.

“I’m real proud of this team,” said Matlock. “We had a few errors we don’t usually have, and it really hurt us. We came out well. After the second inning, that was it. We started making errors and it kind of went south.”

BEST OF THREE CHAMPIONSHIP ... The league championship between Lansford and Hegins will be a best-of-three series starting Thursday. The first game will be played at Hegins starting at 5:30 p.m. The second game is Saturday in Lansford.

SOME GREAT CATCHES ... Defense is a big part of Lansford’s success. Among some of the excellent catches made in Tuesday’s game was a running snag by left fielder Trey McAndrew, a pair of over-the-head catches by Weaver and a line drive catch to end the game by Drew Kokinda.

Sch. Valley 300 10 - 4 2 5

Lansford 168 1x - 16 9 2

B. Hood, Rohrbach (4), Pascoe (4) and Orsulak. Elsley, Kietsock (2), Strauss (3), Begansky and Kimber. W - B. Hood. L - Elsley.