One Bethlehem team remains alive in the NORCO Legion playoff race, as Bath opened the championship finals Tuesday night against the Birches.

The Wanderers, who had a 1-0 lead in their series over the Birches, lost in three games Sunday evening, losing both contests on Sunday to fall in the series 2-1 and end their season at 14-10.

Bath head coach Alex Specht wasn't sure if he wanted to see the Wanderers in the finals, but is happy his team has been able to move on, sweeping their first two series against Big Pocono and East Stroudsburg.

"We knew that we were a good enough team to get here," said Specht. "Our pitching has really been our best attribute so far and we know we're going to need that against the Birches because they're a scrappy group."

Monday's contest was postponed to rain, which pushed the series back a day. A rainout on Tuesday could force a one-game championship on Wednesday, which would give Bath an advantage with Matt Leon on the mound.

Bath pitchers have been stellar up to the finals so far, as Specht has only used three starters and two relief pitchers through four games, which they've only allowed five runs so far in the playoffs.

Leon threw a no-hitter against Big Pocono in a 6-0 victory to open the postseason and Jimmy Downey has posted two wins to help them move on.

After beating the Birches 3-0 in the regular season, Specht knows that pitching will be his team's strength again this week in the finals, as well as this weekend when both finalists open regional action at Muhlenberg High School.

"Birches has played six games over the same time span as we've played four, so I think we should have fresher arms," said Specht. "We still got to go out and win and it's going to be tough."

The Wanderers lost to the Birches 3-2 in game two on Sunday and fell in the double-header 6-4 to fall short of reaching the championship.

Head coach Dwight Pulieri would have liked to see his team advance, but was proud of what they accomplished.

"We just didn't execute at times on Sunday," Pulieri said. "We had runners on first and third with no outs and we couldn't bring them in. It was a great season, we just didn't make the plays to move on. We have a good group of guys coming back next year, so I'm looking forward to see what we can do."

Bath's best-of-three finals slate was scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (if necessary) of this week. The results of Tuesday's contest are past Press deadlines, but both teams will move onto regionals this weekend.