Lehigh Little League’s 10U All-Stars rallied for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to defeat Southern Lehigh, 9-7, on July 3 at Illick’s Mill Rd.

“I told them before we went to hit in the fifth inning, I said let’s put it together, let’s do this,” said Lehigh manager Tom Cser. “On the back end, when some of those guys were coming up, I said you’re not trying to crank a homer. Base hits. Let’s keep this inning going as long as we can. I’m super proud of them.”

Lehigh’s Nick Pinka, Ben Hartenstine, and Hunter Roth combined for 4 RBI to bring Lehigh within one run.

After the Spartans gave up two walks, Nolan Steiner hit a 2 RBI triple down the right field line to give Lehigh the lead and then scored on a wild pitch.

“I was looking for a letter-high, a little inside. It was a little lower. I watched it go until it hit the ground and then I ran,” Steiner said. “Exciting, yeah.”

Harrison Cser took the mound in relief of Roth to face Southern Lehigh in the top of the sixth inning.

“I like starting games, but relieving, I just think it’s my jam,” Cser said.

Cser struck out the leadoff Spartan batter but fell behind on Nick Piasic.

“I was like, please, and then I got him, and it felt amazing,” said Cser. “It was a fastball.”

Cser’s brother Alex was behind the plate.

“I felt excited because I’ve known my brother for so long, and he’s always been on my team, and I know how he throws, so I really like catching for him,” said Alex Cser. “My coaches always say adversity, so I was telling that to him, and he did it, so I was like, yes, it worked when he struck him out.”

After a two-out single and a walk, Coach Cser made a trip to the mound.

“I just said reel it in. You’re painting that outside corner. Stay out there because they’re totally missing it, and he’s comfortable with his off-speed pitch,” Coach Cser said. “We worked enough, especially with his brother behind the plate, so working together is easy for him, and we’re all on the same page.”

Cser then struck out Gavin Uhl for the final out.

“When those two batters got on, I had two outs, and I was like, it’s time to settle in, and I struck out the third one for the last out,” said Cser.

Southern Lehigh had tallied seven runs, including an inside-the-park home run, by the top of the third inning.

Lehigh answered with one run in the bottom of the third on Roth’s RBI double that skipped through right field.

Roth forced two ground outs and a strikeout in the fourth inning, and had a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth on a strikeout and a double play.

“Southern Lehigh’s always a fantastic opponent,” said Coach Cser. “We have three returning players, so they worked through the grind, but we had a lot of players coming up. The first game (against Hellertown/Lower Saucon), we didn’t face any adversity, but this one, we really did, so this was good for us as a team builder. No quit in this team. A fantastic comeback win.”

Lehigh’s next contest is scheduled for July 9.