POTTSVILLE - Tamaqua started only three seniors during Thursday's District 11 3A championship win against Pine Grove.

The youth wasn't a problem at all, and it hasn't been one all year.The young Raiders are either too young to let the big moment get to them, or have already grown up quite a bit during the 22-plus game season. Maybe it's a little of both.A pair of freshmen played a big role during Thursday's win.Nate Boyle reached base twice from the leadoff spot, scored a run and came in to pitch during a huge spot in the top of the seventh inning. Boyle inherited a runner on third base, but in a few quick pitches, Pine Grove's Taylor Levan popped out to Thad Zuber at second base and Boyle kept the game tied at two en route to the bottom-half of the final frame."I was very nervous, but I just tried to get an out," said Boyle, the winning pitcher. "I wanted to let them hit it and let my fielders make the play. It's crazy right now. We were a team from the beginning. We always stuck together. It's great."Cody Hamm, another ninth grader, pinch-ran for Bernie Gigli in the seventh inning. He scored the game-winning run after using his wheels to advance to second base on a wild pitch and motored all the way home on the final play of the contest.The sophomore class also made an impact.Nick Breiner had one his team's five hits, with a single up the middle in the fifth inning that scored senior Josh Inama."I saw a hole and I thought I could make it," said Breiner. "I was waiting on a pitch and I got it. I hit the ball and made a run."We worked hard in the offseason from January until now. I was hoping they would make an error (on the final play) and they did. Something happened, and we got the score to win the game."Hitting in the nine-hole, directly behind Breiner, is fellow sophomore Michael Bonetsky. With one out in the final inning, Bonetsky's soft chopper combined with his speed was too much for Pine Grove to efficiently field, as the throw to first base was errant (and likely late), and Hamm scored from second."I feel great," said Bonetsky. "I struck out twice. I came back, stuck with it and got the hit for my team. I was happy my team did this. We did this together. "Brady Moyer is the another sophomore who started for Tamaqua on Thursday. Moyer kept the Raiders competitive all afternoon from the mound. He tossed 6 2/3 innings with three strikeouts, one walk while scattering five hits."He was a fighter out there," said Tamaqua head coach Jeff Reading. "He struggled at times and got behind."I think maybe he got tired at the end when he got to his pitching limit. He did what he had to do to keep us in the game. Brady did a phenomenal job."All of the underclassmen are combined with a trio of juniors in Casey Rother, Isaiah Kupchinsky, and Thad Zuber in the heart of the order.Regardless of what happens in the PIAA state playoffs next week, expect this young Raiders' core to make some noise for the foreseeable future, just like it did on Thursday.