Lehigh Valley faced a 3-0 deficit after the top of the third inning during last night's legion all-star game.

But that lead for Schuylkill-Berks was short lived. And once the Lehigh Valley bats got going, the offense didn't let up.

Lehigh Valley responded with six runs of their own in the bottom of the third, and added a run in the fifth and sixth innings to secure the 8-2 victory on Monday Night at FirstEnergy Stadium. It was the Lehigh Valley's third consecutive victory in the all-star game after dropping the inaugural game four years ago.

"I've played a lot of these teams in the past, and they are all good ballplayers," North Parkland's Daniel Zaccaro, who finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs, said. "It was nice to come out and show them who is best, and play some good baseball."

Five Parkland players represented Lehigh Valley in the all-star game. Justin Afflerbach (2-for-2) and Walter Roland (pitched a scoreless first inning) joined Zaccaro from North Parkland, while Kyle Buchman (1-for-2) and Zach Miller (pitched a scoreless second inning) represented South Parkland.

While Lehigh Valley had five base-runners through the first two innings, the LV wasn't able to bring anyone across home until the explosion in the third.

Perhaps the team needed its backs against the wall ever so slightly.

Three straight walks to Fullerton's Matt Melosky, Salisbury's Michael Palmer and West Allentown's Roberto Pimentel loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, giving Lehigh Valley a prime opportunity to cut into their deficit.

They didn't waste any time cashing in on that opportunity.

After Northern Valley's Dante Salerno was hit by a pitch to score Melosky, Fullerton's Jim Scheuren connected on a single that scored Palmer to tie the game at two. Zaccaro then hit a three-run double to put Lehigh Valley ahead 5-2. Coplay's Matthew Hassick added an RBI-single two batters later to make it a four-run advantage.

"That kid threw two fastballs right past me," Zaccaro said. "He was pretty quick, so I adjusted my batting stance, shortened up a little bit, and just wanted to put the ball in play. I just happened to have a big hit."

Brady Yocum's single in the fifth added a run after Salerno crossed home, and a sacrifice fly from Fullerton's TC Correll in the sixth capped off Lehigh Valley's scoring barrage.

"Everyone was hitting well," Zaccaro said. "We have a bunch of good ballplayers, the best kids in the Lehigh Valley. We all played as a team and gelled."

The pitching staff was equally impressive. After Southern Lehigh's Tyler Mann allowed three hits and two runs in the third, Lehigh Valley's staff allowed just four hits the rest of the way. As a group, Lehigh Valley struck out seven Schuylkill-Berks batters.

Defense was also pivotal in helping Lehigh Valley get out of jams. Tulpehocken's Brandon Hartranft led off the sixth with a leadoff triple, but two strikeouts and a pop up ended Schuylkill-Berks' threat. They also had runners on first and second with no outs in the seventh and ninth innings without anything to show for it.

"The experience was really great," Zaccaro said. "I didn't even know I was going to get chosen for this to be honest with you. It was fun to come out here and play and show people what you can do."