Lehigh Little League 12U All-Stars made it clear from the start that they were in it to win it and clinched the District 20 championship, 10-4, over Southern Lehigh on July 8.

Lehigh right fielder Greg Martinez’s bases-loaded triple gave Lehigh a 5-0 lead in the first inning, and Martinez tacked on the sixth run on the same play.

“To have that happen for us is a huge, huge boon,” said Lehigh manager Dave Cresci. “This is a really tough Southern Lehigh team, and the game last week proves that it was a back-and-forth nail-biter all the way through to extra innings and a 4-3 win. To get a little bit of breathing space in that first inning today really helped us set the tone, but I kept telling the boys, play like it’s 0-0.”

Lehigh third baseman Brady Collins loaded the bases with a line drive to center field.

“I knew he was a really good pitcher, and at first, first pitch, I wanted to take it and see how he was throwing,” Collins said. “Second pitch was down the middle. First pitch was a ball. Then it was 1-2, fouled it off, and then he threw me a curveball, and I was staying on it, and I had a line drive up the middle. It felt good. I just really like helping this team with hitting and stuff like that.”

Lehigh added two runs after Zane Balaziuk’s double to the centerfield fence in the second inning on RBI by Lambros Dontas and Colin Kelly.

“It felt great,” said Kelly, who had two doubles in the game. “I’m happy that I helped the team because you’ve got to do what’s best for the team. I thought it was still tough. They came out and struggled a little bit in the beginning, and then they started making their way back.”

While Southern Lehigh plated two runs in the fourth inning, Lehigh matched those runs on two bases-loaded walks.

“I knew this was gonna be a tough battle because what happened last game, 4-3, tough game into the seventh, and we came out swinging,” said Collins. “We were confident. We were excited.”

Balaziuk was the winning pitcher, and Jack Cresci tossed the last two-thirds of the sixth inning with two runners on base.

Southern Lehigh’s Logan Traub knocked in one run, and the Spartans scored their final run on a bases- loaded walk.

“We’ve known those players for quite some time, but they all develop and grow and pick up new things, and they’re much tougher this year than they were two years ago,” Coach Cresci said. “So proud of these kids. They deserve all the credit. Zane was amazing on the mound as he usually is. When you hand that young man the baseball, you know good things are going to happen.”

Lehigh advances to the Section 6 tournament, scheduled to begin on July 18 in Orwigsburg.