BETHLEHEM - In a lot of ways, Northwest Bethlehem’s Lehigh Valley Connie Mack squad is the new kid of the block.

The Cyclones certainly have made a big first impression.

Undefeated during the regular season, Northwest Bethlehem opened the playoffs with a 12-7 victory over Palmerton Wednesday to advance to the semifinals.

It was another big step forward for a relatively new program that hasn’t made life easy on its competition.

“Some of them played Little League together, some of them are guys that didn’t have a Senior team, and that’s how we started this whole thing,” said Cyclones’ coach Paul Fiore. “Last year would have been our first year, but it was canceled. And we played in the fall, but we didn’t do that good, honestly.

“But the guys have been practicing in that batting cage here since January. They have put the time in.”

It has certainly paid dividends.

Northwest Bethlehem, which had a first-round bye, opened up a 6-0 lead through three innings against the Bombers.

Jayron Velez, Miguel Diaz-Rivera, Aaron Clark and DJ Millhouse all had RBI singles in a four-run first inning. JJ Cruz scored on an error in the second, and Dylan Pyle raced home in the third on a wild pitch.

Velez finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs.

The Bombers didn’t go down without a fight, however, as Palmerton rallied in the top of the fourth to take a one-run lead.

After Ty Sander was hit by a pitch and Tyler Solt walked, Luke Netznik dropped down a bunt to load the bases with no outs.

Owen Serfass and Nate Stroup then drew back-to-back walks to bring in two runs, and Trevor Stroup connected for a two-run double to cut the Cyclones’ lead to 6-4.

Daniel Lucykanish’s RBI-single made it a one-run game. Trey Sterling followed and reached on a fielder’s choice, with an error allowing Trevor Stroup to score to tie it at 6-6.

An RBI single from Ty Sander brought in Sterling and put the Bombers ahead 7-6.

“Our guys were about as gutsy as you can be,” said Palmerton manager Matt Solt. “Everybody stepped up and did their job, and I couldn’t ask for a better performance than what we did tonight. Obviously, you would like the score to be different.

“They played great, but their team played better. It is what it is. That’s an undefeated team for a reason.”

Northwest Bethlehem didn’t trail for long, as Velez and Ryan Hoffman connected for back-to-back two-out singles in the bottom of the fourth inning to bring up Diaz-Rivera, who launched a three-run blast over the right-center field fence to put the Cyclones ahead 9-7, a lead they would never relinquish.

It was the first homer of the season for Diaz-Rivera, who finished with a pair of hits, two runs scored and four RBIs.

Northwest Bethlehem added three runs in the fifth.

It wasn’t the ending he had hoped for, but Solt knew his team gave him everything it had and then some.

“With our backs against the wall, I think it helped a little bit,” said Solt. “It gave our guys a little extra push to keep driving, but I can’t ask for anything more. They did what they had to do, and I have no complaints about the way they played.”

CHIPPING IN

... Already short several players, and playing with only 10 on the roster, Palmerton lost No. 3 hitter Kaleb Eitner in the first inning after he was hit by a pitch. That meant seventh-grader Alex Keiper, who was brought up from the Junior team, would play the rest of the game. “He put the ball in play a few times, caught a few balls,” said Solt. “Everybody contributed.”

UP NEXT

... Northwest Bethlehem will host Northern Valley Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the semifinals.

Palmerton 000 700 0 - 7 5 2

NW Bethlehem 411 330 x - 12 12 2

Netznik, N. Stroup (5), Sterling (5) and T. Stroup; Powers, Smith (4), Hoffman (7) and Diaz-Rivera. W-Smith. L-Netznik. HR: NB - Diaz-Rivera (4th, two on).