Liam Jancula tossed a four-inning no-hitter and did not walk a batter — a theme Hollidaysburg coach Jon Szynal said has helped the Golden Tigers find early season success this year.

“It all starts with the starting pitching,” Szynal said. “It has been really good. For the most part, we’re not walking people. We’re throwing strikes, getting ahead in the count, having other teams put the ball in play and our defense is making the routine plays.”

Though the pitching may have stood out overall, Hollidaysburg’s bats did a lot of damage on Thursday.

Josh Banks led off the game with a double down the line, and Mason Mierley reached on a three-base error after Penn Cambria couldn’t come up with a fly ball.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Hollidaysburg's McKinley Layton is told to stay up by Cole Hartman after both score on a Josh Banks single.

Later in the inning, another dropped fly ball led to another run and a 4-0 deficit after half an inning.

“That first inning — once that happened, things just went downhill after that,” Penn Cambria coach Brent Davison said. “They are a good hitting team. When teams like that are hitting, you have to hit with them, and we did not do that at all today.”

Doubles by Donald Miller and Braden Hatch highlighted another four-run inning for Hollidaysburg in the top of the second inning to make it 8-0.

“They were selective on what they swung at, and when they got a good pitch to hit, they hit it pretty hard for the most part,” Szynal said. “I’m pleased with where we’re at with that right now.”

Two Hollidaysburg errors gave Penn Cambria a chance to strike in the bottom of the second inning, but Jancula got a pop out and a strikeout to escape the jam.

Three walks and a sacrifice fly by Ty McGough made it 9-0 in the third before the Golden Tigers put the game away with six runs in the top of the fourth inning.

Banks had a two-run single, Mierley had an RBI hit and McGough doubled before Spencer Davis grounded out to drive in the 15th Hollidaysburg run.

“I think we have a lot of really good players,” Szynal said. “This stretch of the schedule we have coming up is going to be tough. I can probably answer that question a little better here in a couple of weeks. They are showing signs, working hard in practice and caring about the team.”

Penn Cambria fell to 1-5 a day after beating Bedford for its first win of the season. The Panthers will play Bishop Guilfoyle Academy in the consolation round this morning at 10.

“This team — the talent is there. We have the capability,” Davison said. “We can be a very good baseball team. We haven’t put it all together. The hitting, pitching and defense — once we put it all together, we’ll be a good team. We’re just not there yet.”

Hollidaysburg will play Tyrone in the semifinals at 3 p.m.

Szynal credited his players for making something happen Thursday even though the Golden Tigers got a couple assists from mistakes in the field by Penn Cambria.

“That’s one of the things we talk about,” Szynal said. “If you put the ball in play, good things happen. That was an example of that.”

HOLLIDAYSBURG (15): Banks rf 232, Mierley ss 432, McGough 2b 111, Rossman dh 300, Davis dh 100, Miller 3b 422, Phillips cf 311, Hartman 1b 311, Layton lf 221, Hatch c 101. Totals — 24-15-11.

PENN CAMBRIA (0): Davison 2b 200, Himmer 3b 200, Gibbons ss 200, Talko dh 200, Vinglish c 100, Latterner lf 100, Jones ph 100, Price 1b 200, Jones cf 100, Eckenrode p 100, E. Mento p 000. Totals — 15-0-0.

SCORE BY INNINGS

Hollidaysburg 441 6XX X–15 11 3

Penn Cambria 000 0XX X–0 0 3

E–Jones, Latterner, Price, Miller 2. 2B–Hatch, Miller, Banks, McGough. RBI–McGough 3, Mierley, Banks 2, Miller 2, Davis, Phillips, Hatch. WP–Jancula. LP–G. Gides. SO–Jancula 1, G. Gides 1, Eckenrode 1, E. Mento 1. BB–Eckenrode 3, G. Gides 2.

Records: Hollidaysburg (7-0); Penn Cambria (1-5).

Umpires: Dave Adams (HP); Caleb Stephens (bases).

Curve Classic

TODAY

at PNG Field

CONSOLATION

Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Penn Cambria, 10 a.m.

Philipsburg-Osceola vs. Central, 12:30

SEMIFINALS

Tyrone vs. Hollidaysburg, 3

Altoona vs. Huntingdon, 5:30

CHAMPIONSHIP

Semifinal winners, 8