There’s no substitute for outstanding pitching.

A team with a dominant hurler on the mound is a team primed for victory.

On Monday night, Northern Valley’s Shaun O’Donnell epitomized the role of an ace. The left-hander was on top of his game, pitching a three-hit shutout to lead the Chargers to an 11-0 Lehigh Valley Legion win over Lower Macungie.

“Shaun pitched awesome tonight,” said Northern Valley manager Brad Rauch. “We knew last week he was going to start tonight ... He pitched well against them last year in the playoffs, so I kind of wanted to come back with him today. It was probably the best I’ve seen him look in the two years he played for me. His control was there, his off-speed was there.”

O’Donnell allowed a triple to the game’s first batter - Drew McGeehan - but he left him stranded there to give the Chargers some momentum heading into their half of the inning.

The Northern Valley offense responded with three runs as two walks and a hit by Trey Sterling loaded the bases to start the uprising. A bases-loaded walk to Justin Augustus forced in the first run, while a wild pitch plated a second run. Max George added an RBI on a groundout.

“It’s nice to have a scoreless inning, so that felt great,” said O’Donnell about the first frame. “The leadoff triple I left right down the middle. It wasn’t the best pitch on a 1-2 count. But to hold him at third was awesome, and my defense had my back throughout the whole game.

“The run support was great because then you get to be more relaxed. If a runner gets on third, you know that run doesn’t matter as much so you don’t feel as pressured up on the mound. You get to go through more of your pitches, and if you miss a pitch it doesn’t matter, you just try it again. But if it’s a tight game and there’s a guy on third, every pitch matters. It just gives the pitcher a lot more comfort to go out there and test out his arm.”

While there was nothing wrong with O’Donnell’s arm, Lower Mac struggled on the hill.

The visitors had problems finding the strike zone, walking 12 batters and hitting two more during the contest.

Three of those free passes came in the second inning when Northern Valley upped the lead to 5-0. Josh Farber, who walked, scored on a wild pitch, while Josh Lichman singled home Wes George, who reached on a 3-2 pitch out of the strike zone.

“Today we did a much better job of taking advantage of runners in scoring position, hitting the ball and making contact,” said Rauch. “We’ve struggled this year with watching good pitches go by and putting ourselves in at-bats where we’re behind in the count, and swinging at off-speed pitches and being off balance. Today was the best we’ve looked at the plate.

“They had control issues. Today we left some of the pitches go that we would have been swinging at in previous games.”

The Chargers’ discipline at the plate continued in the third, as five more walks contributed to a six-run outburst that pushed the margin to an insurmountable 11-0. After two outs to start the frame, three straight bases on balls loaded the sacks for Sterling, who delivered a line-drive single to center to score a pair of runs. O’Donnell followed with a ground single up the middle to bring home another teammate, and an error on the play resulted in another tally.

“We’ve been struggling recently at the plate, so it was good to get some key hits tonight,” said O’Donnell. “It was good to see the team come alive. My ABs, it was nice to get that single up the middle to go along with the two walks. They walked us a lot tonight.”

While O’Donnell tired a bit on a hot and humid night, walking his only two batters of the evening in the fifth, he also struck out the side to complete his shutout.

“With working full-time, I’ve been out in the heat since 7 in the morning today,” said the winning pitcher, who finished with six strikeouts. “Coming into the game, I just stay hydrated throughout the day. I would say I was fatigued for sure once it got to the fifth inning. My fastball lost some velo, but at least I stuck with it and got through it.”

NV OFFENSE ... Sterling had two hits and scored twice for Northern Valley. He was one of five Chargers to score two runs. The others were Bobby Croneberger (three walks), O’Donnell, Farber and Wes George (two walks, HBP).

MOUND MAN ... O’Donnell finished with 84 pitches, 58 for strikes.

LAST HURRAH ... This is Rauch’s 17th season leading the Chargers. The longtime mentor has said this will be his last season with the team.

NO REST ... Northern Valley (4-3) returns to action again tonight when it hosts Southern Lehigh.

Lower Mac 000 00 - 0 3 2

Northern Valley 326 0x - 11 5 2

Ehrite, Hogan (2), Hummell (3) and Kernechel; O’Donnell and Augustus. W - O’Donnell. L - Ehrite.