SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Nick Behm's confidence in his pitching ability never wavered.
One game after perhaps the worst outing of his life, the red-headed Schuylkill Haven junior pitcher bounced back in impressive fashion Thursday.
Behm tossed a four-hit shutout and struck out nine as the Hurricanes blanked Williams Valley 5-0 in a Schuylkill League Division II baseball contest.
The victory, coupled with Minersville's 14-2 rout of Shenandoah Valley, forces a one-game tiebreaker between the Hurricanes (15-5, 12-4 D-II) and Miners (14-6, 12-4) for the Division II wild card at 5 p.m. today at Blue Mountain's Allen Greenawalt Field.
The winner of today's tiebreaker will face Division I champion Pottsville in the Schuylkill League semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Pine Grove's Stump Stadium.
"That's the Nick Behm that we were used to seeing today," Schuylkill Haven coach Scott Buffington said. "You have to give him a lot of credit. After getting literally shelled, and that's being kind I guess, he came back and performed the way we hoped he would perform.
"He threw a gem. We made some real nice defensive plays behind him. Give him credit, and give our team credit for beating a really good team. We live to play another day."
Behm took an 8-0 record into Monday's game against Marian at Middleport and didn't get an out.
The first nine Colts reached safely, collecting seven hits, ending Behm's day after 31 pitches. Seven of those Colts scored, helping Marian to a 17-7, five-inning victory.
The right-hander said he prepared for Thursday's contest against Williams Valley the same way he did for Marian. This time, the results were much better.
"I knew coming into today that I obviously didn't get even an out against Marian," Behm said. "I had confidence going into the Marian game, and I just told myself that I had to forget about that and have the same confidence going into that game. I did, and it worked. I had a great game."
Behm scattered four singles and walked two, allowing only one Williams Valley baserunner to reach second base.
Mixing a sharp-diving breaking ball with a potent fastball, Behm cruised along, not facing more than four batters in any inning.
"Against Marian, my breaking ball wasn't breaking as much," Behm said. "Today, I threw it a little lower. Against Marian it was hanging and they were able to hit line drives."
Schuylkill Haven mustered just five hits off three Williams Valley pitchers, but capitalized on seven Viking errors to tally its five runs.
A pair of dropped fly balls and an infield miscue triggered Haven's three-run rally in the third inning, which was capped by Mike Feryo's RBI double.
In the fourth, Vinnie Fanelli singled and scored as part of an attempted double steal to make it 4-0, and Zavier Webb scored on a series of errors to make it 5-0.
All five runs came off senior right-hander Brendan Miller, who was making his season debut. Miller pitched two innings and threw 50 pitches, but all seven of the Vikes' errors came with him on the hill.
Stephen Sedesse and Jarred Matter each threw two scoreless innings sandwiched around Miller's appearance.
"Brendan did well. He did real well," Williams Valley coach Don Matter said. "Our errors have killed us all year. I was pleased with our pitching, but upset with our defense. It takes you out of the game.
"Don't take anything away from Behm, because he pitched a heck of a game. But we sure didn't do anything to support our pitching."
Schuylkill Haven and Minersville split their two Division II games, both of which went extra innings. The Hurricanes won 6-3 in 10 innings April 9 at Minersville, while the Miners won 9-7 in eight innings May 2 at Schuylkill Haven.
Adding intrigue to today's contest is that the aces for both teams, Minersville's Aaron Fritz and Behm, are ineligible to pitch due to PIAA pitching rules.
"It's always fun to play Minersville," Buffington said. "Coach (Del) Hauck and I go back a long, long way. It's only fitting, two extra-inning games, we won at their place, they won at our place, so why not play somewhere else and see what happens." Game Summary