Whitehall-Coplay escaped a jam in the top of the fourth inning, then broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to pull away and beat Salisbury, 11-2, Monday night at Sammy Balliet Stadium in Lehigh Valley Legion play.

After Whitehall-Coplay starter Dylan Grohotolsky walked the first two hitters in the top of the fourth inning, manager Andy Hausman made his way to the mound for a team meeting.

“Dylan’s a good pitcher, a very reliable pitcher, and he’s been our ace this season,” said Andy Hausman, Whitehall-Coplay manager. “I just went out there to give us a minute to reset and regroup, take a deep breath, and we finished out the inning really well.”

The next hitter, Jamillo Santoyo, sacrificed the runners to second and third base. But with one out, Grohotolsky struck out Tyler Kuder and Aniel Rojas to end the Salisbury threat.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Whitehall-Coplay’s Nolan Hudak led off with a single and stole second base, scoring on Kane Braun’s single to make it 4-2, Whitehall-Coplay.

Grohotolsky and Kolby Miller walked to load the bases and, with two out, Zack Schaedel doubled to score Braun and Grohotolsky and extend the lead to four runs.

Alert baserunning led to two more runs when both Miller and Schaedel were able to score on one wild pitch, giving Whitehall-Coplay an 8-2 lead after four innings.

“We have been putting the bat on the ball all season,” Hausman said. “When we hit it hard, good things happen.”

Whitehall-Coplay added another run in the fifth inning when Callen Nicklas singled and came around to score later in the inning on a passed ball.

In the sixth inning, back-to-back singles from Schaedel and Henry Shultz scored Griffin Peters, who singled, and pinch hitter Owen Miley, who walked.

On the mound, Grohotolsky struck out 11 and allowed just two runs in 5 ⅔ innings, retiring the last eight hitters he faced after the conference at the mound.

Shultz pitched the final 1 ⅓ innings for Whitehall-Coplay, striking out the side in the seventh inning.

Salisbury did get the early lead, scoring in the top of the first inning when Tanner Kuder led off the game with a double and scored on a Josiah Kuhns single.

Whitehall-Coplay immediately answered in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs. Schaedel doubled to score Kolby Miller, who led off with a walk. Schaedel then scored on a Shultz triple and Shultz scored on a sacrifice fly from Chase Miller, putting Whitehall-Coplay on top, 3-1.

Salisbury got within a run in the top of the third inning at 3-2, after Hunter Kotarski reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Liam Christman double. However, Whitehall-Coplay did not let Salisbury get any closer.

The win gets Whitehall-Coplay back on track after a couple of losses in a row.

“Last week, we didn’t have our whole team together, but now everybody’s back and I think we are ready to make a stretch run here,” Hausman said.

Whitehall-Coplay was scheduled to visit South Parkland Wednesday. Meanwhile, they are slated to travel to Salisbury on Friday.