In baseball, when a team puts the ball in play, good things tend to happen.

That was the message from Northern Valley head coach Erich Klein on Wednesday with the Chargers taking on Palmerton in Connie Mack competition.

The Chargers struggled in the middle innings, with their hitters collecting nine consecutive outs, most of which came from fly outs. But in the end, The Chargers got Klein’s message, putting the ball in play in the sixth, which resulted in three hits and three runs, to propel Northern Valley to a 6-5 victory.

Early on, it looked like it was going to be a high-scoring affair, with the score knotted at three after two. But then the bats on both sides went silent for the next three innings.

It wasn’t until the sixth that the action picked up again, with Northern Valley (4-4) going from nine straight outs to an offensive explosion in the top of the inning. The Chargers, instead of going to the air, put the ball on the ground to helped them gain a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Rhys George, Cole Hausman and Chase Misera all came through with hits in the inning, with Misera collecting an RBI. Misera scored on a bases-loaded walk and Hausman on a wild pitch.

“I have been doing this for 19 years, and this is probably the youngest group I’ve had, so they’re learning and learning that if you put the ball in play, making the other team make plays, that good things can happen is part of that curve,” said Klein. “But they never gave up and they battled back; it’s a good group that wants to learn.”

Palmerton (3-3) battled back in the bottom of the sixth to pull within one. Lucas Heydt had the lone hit of the inning while Randan Solt collected an RBI.

After Northern Valley went scoreless in the top of the seventh, it was up to Ben Boyer to close out the game after he entered in relief in the fifth.

Things got dicey for Boyer as he got himself into a jam with the bases loaded and two outs, due to the third baserunner of the inning getting on via an intentional walk.

With a fresh count, Boyer dug in, and threw three straight heaters for a strikeout to clinch the win.

“I was throwing the ball a little high the batter before, and I knew I had to calm down, because a wild pitch was going to tie the game,” said Boyer. “So I just changed up my leg kick a bit and threw three straight fastballs, and we were able to come away with the win.”

LEADERS

... For the Chargers, George and Hausman led the way with two hits apiece, while Tanner Romig had two RBIs. For Palmerton, Conner Beahm, Kaleb Eitner, Ethan Steinmetz, Chase Reph and Heydt each had two hits.

No. Valley 030 003 0 - 6 7 0

Palmerton 210 002 0 - 5 12 2

Kistler, Boyer (5) and Hausman; Beahm, Eitner (6) and Solt. W - Boyer, L - Eitner.