Good teams win even though they have an excuse to lose.

Winning is a topic the Northern Valley Connie Mack Chargers are familiar with this season. They’ve done a lot of it and last Saturday runs did not come easy, but they defeated Centennial 4-1 in the Connie Mack State Tournament at Limeport Stadium.

“Great game,” Northern Valley coach Joey Seremula said. “We struggled at the plate, but produced enough runs to win.”

One young man who didn’t struggle was pitcher Shaun O’Donnell. He threw a 100-pitch gem, allowing just one hit, one earned run, walking four and striking out six.

At the plate Cannon Fitch and Jacob Fagen had two hits each, resulting in some big innings. The Chargers had seven hits overall - all singles - and four walks to manufacture their four runs. Josh Lichman, Nate Fitzgerald and O’Donnell had one hit each. Four Chargers drove in runs - Nolan Fitzgerald, Erik Mather, Joshua Farber and Fagen.

“In Northern Valley’s 12-year history, this is the first time NV has won it’s first game of the tournament,” Seremula said.

Northern Valley’s next game was scheduled for July 25 against Montgomery.