Palmerton has been hitting into some tough luck this season.

But on Monday night, all that changed.

The Blue Bombers pounded out a dozen hits and produced three innings of crooked numbers in posting a 10-4 Connie Mack victory over one of Moore Township’s two teams.

“We hit the ball really well tonight,” said Palmerton head coach Matt Solt. “We have been making solid contact all along, but they just haven’t been falling. But tonight seemed to be the opposite of that.

“We put the ball in play from the top (of the lineup) to the bottom, which makes it a lot easier to score. If you’ve been watching any of our other boxscores, (runs) have been hard to come by. We haven’t been getting the hits and scoring, and today they came in bunches and that was nice.”

The offensive onslaught started early for Palmerton, plating three runs in the first inning.

Chase Reph’s double knocked in Connor Beahm, who had singled, with the game’s first run. After Luke Netznik’s basehit, Reph scored on a wild pitch. Nate Stroup’s RBI single moments later made it 3-0.

“You can’t beat scoring runs early,” said Solt. “It changes the whole game and the whole way you coach a game. When you can start playing defense with a lead ... you can kind of play a little looser. You don’t have to be as concerned with (an error) here or a walk there. It’s not going to bother you as much if you have a cushion.”

That cushion grew an inning later.

Netznik and Stroup delivered run-scoring hits in the second, while an error brought home another tally. Trey Sterling’s sacrifice fly pushed the margin to 7-0.

The support was more than enough for the Blue Bomber pitching staff. Solt used five hurlers, getting two scoreless innings from both Jacob Grammes and Brayden Hosier before having three others throw an inning apiece to close out the contest.

“We’re trying to match our pitching against the teams we’re playing,” said Solt. “So, if we’re playing a younger team, we’re trying to throw a lot of our guys who are going to be incoming freshmen.

“Tonight, the first two guys we threw are going to be incoming freshmen and we wanted to get them some extra innings. Then we went to a couple guys who have some experience but haven’t pitched for a while so we just wanted to get them some work. We have a killer week coming up, so we’re going to need all the guys we can get.”

Randon Solt tripled home a run during a three-run fifth that extended the lead to 10-0.

Solt, along with Beahm (2-for-4, three runs), Reph (2-for-3, two runs) and Netznik (2-for-4, two runs) formed a potent top of the lineup.

“We have a lot of experience up there,” said Coach Solt. “And it shows. We have guys where it doesn’t matter whether they’re facing a 17-year-old or a 13- or 14-year-old. They are hitting their pitches, and that’s something that comes with being experienced.

“That’s not taking anything away from the bottom of the lineup. Obviously our younger guys are still putting the ball in play, but we have a lot of experience up top, guys with a lot of Connie Mack at-bats. Experience makes a big difference.”

PRODUCTION ... Nine different Palmerton players had hits in the game, while eight Blue Bombers had RBIs. The winners also received five walks.

PITCHING ... The five hurlers combined on a three-hitter and struck out seven, getting two from Grammes, Hosier and Netznik.

PRECAUTION ... The team continues to follow guidelines in order to play. “We have our rules in place,” said Solt. “Everybody gets their temperature checked before they go in the dugout. They all have masks, so when they’re in the dugout and can’t spread out they’ve got to put their masks on, and the kids have been really good about that. They just want to play.”

UP NEXT ... Palmerton (1-3) plays the other Moore Township team Wednesday and South Parkland on Friday.

Palmerton 340 030 0 - 10 12 1

Moore Twp. 000 022 0 - 4 3 5