One night after being eliminated from Blue Mountain League playoff contention, the Berlinsville Braves were just hoping to end their season on a positive note.

And for a few innings on Thursday, they looked like they would.

But facing a league-leading Northern Yankees team - who have plenty of players with Times News area ties and is known for their potent lineup - an early lead wouldn’t hold up.

Northern, coached by former Lehighton High School mentor Brian Polaha, stormed back from a huge deficit and eventually pulled out a 14-10 rain-shortened Blue Mountain League victory at Bryfogle Park.

The win gives the Yankees (22-8) the top seed in the upcoming playoffs and a first-round bye.

“We’re happy,” said Polaha. “We’re where we wanted to be. We have a bye, and that’s the most important thing. In a three-game series, a lot of things can happen. We know that, and we wanted to avoid that.

“(The league) re-seeds (in the playoffs) so we’ll play the lowest seed left, although they are all quality teams left. It’s nice that we have a bye to relax a little bit and get our arms fresh. And then be ready to go.”

The Braves (12-17-1) were the team ready to go in both team’s regular-season finale, scoring nine times in the first inning.

Palmerton graduate Cole Serfass delivered an RBI double during the uprising, while Jim Thorpe product Noah Snisky knocked in a run with a fielder’s choice.

“This was just like (Wednesday) night when we scored five in the first and had 11 after three innings,” said Berlinsville manager Cody Krupa, who played his high school ball at Northern Lehigh. “We have big bursts, which is kind of unique because we have mostly college players. We have a bunch of kids that just smash the ball. That’s super cool from a hitting coach side.”

Quickly down 9-1, the Yankees wasted no time chipping into the lead.

In the top of the second, Chad Cooperman - head coach of Northwestern’s high school team - singled with two outs to load the bases and keep the inning alive. That proved to be valuable as Lehighton product Jacen Nalesnik followed with a grand slam that cut the margin in half.

“It wasn’t a pretty first inning, but the one thing we know this team can do is hit,” said Polaha. “It was big to get right back in it there. If we come out and don’t get a run out of that bases-loaded situation, they still feel good after their nine-run inning ... But, right away we cut the lead in half with that one swing. That can’t be understated. That was a swing that got us right back in it.”

The Yankees still trailed entering the fourth, but Polaha’s club batted around and scored seven times to go ahead. Northwestern graduate Ty Schreiner started the scoring with a solo homer. Brock Bollinger - who starred for Palmerton in high school - doubled in the frame while Cooperman and Tamaqua product Casey Rother both came through with two-run hits.

“With their rotation, we thought we’d be able to put up some runs and we needed to win the game,” said Cooperman. “We have a lot of good hitters, and that was on display today.

“Overall, it was a good team win. We did a lot of things well, but we need to sharpen up the defense a little bit. We’re looking forward to heading into the playoffs.”

While Cooperman was clutch at the plate, his pitching may have been more important.

Coming on in relief in the third, he held the Braves scoreless for three innings, allowing Northern to generate its comeback.

“We had to figure out a way to stabilize things, and Coop did a great job,” said Polaha. “We just had to figure out how to hold them, because if they keep scoring it really doesn’t matter. He settled things down and kept their bats in check.”

“I was able to throw the fastball pretty good for strikes,” said Cooperman. “Get ahead with the fastball and sprinkle in some breaking balls late, and also pitch to contact and let the fielders do the work. I was able get them to get under the ball a little bit and they popped some balls up, which makes for some easy outs.”

GAME CALLED ... Berlinsville actually rallied in the home sixth, cutting the gap to 14-12 on a two-run triple off the bat of Shane Fillman. But with no outs and the tying run coming to the plate, a downpour halted play and eventually forced the game to be called with the score reverting back to the end of the fifth inning.

BIG HITTERS ... Cooperman officially ended 3-for-3 with three runs, and had a sixth-inning double wiped out by the rain. Nalesnik added three hits and five RBIs, with Bollinger adding three hits. Rother and former Northwestern standout Derek Holmes both collected two hits. Serfass finished with two hits for the Braves. Snisky had a hit, while Krupa contributed an RBI single.

TOUGH YEAR ... “Not a lot has gone our way this year,” said Krupa. “Injuries have been a factor. Our first baseman tonight was an all-league shortstop and the runner-up for the MVP last year, but hasn’t played a game at short. He had an UCL sprain and is totally down a notch. My No. 5 hitter last year played just one game because his hip was bothering him. We’ve been piecing things together all year.”

No. Yankees 142 70 - 14 18 3

Berlinsville 910 00 - 10 11 1

Kratz, Cooperman (3) and Bollinger; Howland, Mueller (4) and Serfass. W - Cooperman. L - Howland. HR: Northern Yankees - Nalesnik (2nd, three on), Herb (3rd, none on), Schreiner (4th, none on).