Tamaqua received an outstanding pitching performance from its two hurlers Thursday night.

Unfortunately for the Blue Sox, Pine Grove received an even better one.

Ethan Hannevig tossed a three-hit shutout and struck out 13 batters to lead the Grovers to a 2-0 Schuylkill-Berks Independent League victory.

The Grovers’ right-hander was never in trouble. He didn’t walk a single batter and allowed just one Tamaqua base runner past first base.

“He threw a lot of strikes and mixed up his pitches well,” said Blue Sox head coach Jim Akins. “He threw a lot of first-pitch curveballs. He worked his curveball and his fastball together really well.

“We’ve been up and down offensively this season; we’ve been inconsistent ... We were just never able to get runners on and make them have to make plays.”

Tamaqua (1-4) failed to make a play in the second inning, and it gave Hannevig all the support he would need. Nate Minnich and Kaden Lengle both singled, and an error allowed Minnich to score.

Pine Grove (4-3) increased its lead in the fourth when Brandon Unger doubled home Hunter Heim, who had singled.

Those were the only blemishes against Blue Sox starter Tate Ligenza, who tossed five innings and struck out six. Zach Fannock relieved his teammate and pitched two scoreless frames.

“Tate went five strong,” said Akins. “He pitched very smart, very effectively. Zach came in relief and kept us in the game. Our pitchers were very smart tonight. They threw a lot of ground balls in key situations, and also got a lot of fly balls, too.

“Defensively, we were right there. We just had two miscues and they cost us. The team that makes the less errors wins, and Pine Grove didn’t make any tonight.”

The Blue Sox managed just three singles - from Kaleb Mushock in the third, Ligenza in the sixth, and Nate Fannock in the seventh.

“We had a couple hard-hit balls, but unfortunately they went right in someone’s glove tonight,” said Akins. “That’s baseball.

“It was a great game. We had a great atmosphere tonight. We had great fan support again. We’ve been getting great turnouts ... The kids played hard, and we were in it every inning. Other than a victory, you can’t ask for much more than that.”

BACKSTOP PRESENCE ... Tamaqua catcher Joey Minehan threw out two runners trying to steal, one at second and one at third.

CONSTANT PRESSURE ... Pine Grove had runners on base every inning, but Ligenza and Fannock managed to get out of trouble more times than not. Tamaqua also threw a runner out at the plate in the seventh.

PLEASURE TO PLAY ... The Blue Sox, like many teams, are thrilled to be playing baseball despite the pandemic. “We had kids that didn’t get to play high school ball, and then we had some kids come out that we haven’t seen in a year or two that just missed the game,” said Akins. “They get along great, they hustle and they play right up until the last pitch. They’re just excited to be out there.”

IN CONTROL ... Hannevig threw just 84 pitches, including 60 for strikes.

UP NEXT ... Tamaqua hosts Post 625 in a doubleheader on Saturday. The opening game is at 1 p.m.

Pine Grove 010 100 0 - 2 9 0

Tamaqua 000 000 0 - 0 3 2

Hannevig and Unger; Ligenza, Fannoch (6) and Minehan. W - Hannevig. L - Ligenza.