Northern Yankees pitcher Mike Yates hadn’t had a start in almost two years until Aug. 17, and not only did he start, he finished off the Hellertown Royals, 8-2, at Dimmick Park in Hellertown for the Northern Yankees first Blue Mountain League championship in franchise history.

“He was texting me yesterday- What’s the deal? I’m ready to go. What’s the deal? What’s the deal?” said Yankees manager Brian Polaha of Yates. “This championship means a lot. You play, and it’s a long season. It’s a long postseason. The wins manifest themselves in the camaraderie, and our playoff bats have been unbelievable. I’m just happy for these guys. I put a lot in, and they put a lot in.”

The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Matt McBride’s two-out base hit bounced through the infield to score J.J. Ganzaroli.

“I knew it was a very big challenge, so I was a little jittery at first, but once I got into my groove, it turned out awesome,” said Yates. “I worked a lot of fastballs. I didn’t really pitch for strikeouts. I worked my ground balls and stayed low in the zone. I was able to get ahead with my curveball and slider on a couple occasions, but living low was the key to my success today.”

Allen Umbenhauer led off the fourth with a solo home run for the Yankees, Chase Herb followed with a double to deep right field, and Quinn Warmkessel had an RBI double to center that tied the game.

In the fifth, Jacen Nalesnik had an RBI double to left field, and Derek Holmes had a two-run homer.

“Obviously, we were down two-zip, but knowing the hitters we have in our lineup, and knowing Yatesy was gonna’ settle in, we had all the confidence in the world that we could come back,” Nalesnik said. “I missed on a fastball, and [Dan Blugis] came back with a slider, and he hung it a little bit, so I took it to left field, hit it pretty good, and Chad [Cooperman] was on first base, got a good jump, scored a run, and then from there on, Derek hit that home run, and that took us where we needed to be.”

By the end if the inning, the Yankees had a 5-2 lead.

“Thankfully it got over,” said Holmes regarding his homer, “but it was a big inning for us with Chase getting a hit right beforehand, Coop leading it off, Umby continuing it, so it was a good game altogether. First time through the lineup, they really had us. We were off-balance. Second time through is when we usually heat up, and we get going. We got those two runs back, and then as soon as we got the lead, we knew Yates was gonna’ shut it down. He did phenomenally.”

Yates faced just four batters in each of the fifth and sixth innings, and in the top of the seventh, the Yankees added three more runs when Nalesnik doubled to right center, Herb tripled to right, and Tyler Schreiner doubled down the third base line.

“A lot of these guys have been with the team for a bunch of years, and we do have some new guys, and it’s great Coach Polaha getting one in the Blue Mountain League,” said Nalesnik. “He’s won some championships in the Tri-County League, but this one’s definitely special.”