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By Jon Fleck
For the Mirror
WILLIAMSBURG -- When Williamsburg and Moshannon Valley met in the regular season, Rowan Gorsuch and Landyn Evans locked up in a pitcher's duel for their respective teams. Gorsuch and the Blue Pirates took that game 4-0.
The two met again Monday in the District 6 Class 1A quarterfinals with the result going the other way this time.
Evans scattered five hits and struck out seven while the Black Knights' bats came to life in the middle innings for a 5-2 victory and a berth in the district semifinals Friday. The Black Knights will face Bishop McCort, 2-0 winners over Claysburg-Kimmel.
Scoreless through three with just one hit between the two teams, Mo Valley and Williamsburg each put up a single tally in the fourth before the Knights plated four in the fifth inning to take the lead for good.
After Brody Kephart led off with a single, Zach Reifer bunted him to second. A throwing error allowed him to reach, and the runners advanced to second and third, respectively, on the same error.
Following an intentional walk to load the bases with no outs, Rocco Reifer drove in Kephart with a single to left.
"We got a lot more aggressive at the plate," Reifer said. "He started hanging his curveball some, and the first pitch fastball was right in there. We started hitting it and got some momentum. It's hard to stop a team that has momentum."
Gorsuch struck out the next two batters, but Mason Abernethy singled to bring home Zach Reifer and Tanner Kephart. Valent Cervenak capped the rally with a single that scored Rocco Reifer.
"That broke the ice when Mason got that hit to score two," MV coach Jim Hawkins said. "We couldn't hit Gorsuch in the previous game. We had to put the ball in play to make things happen, and we did."
Evans and Rocco Reifer made the lead stand up. Evans scattered five hits over 5.2 innings, walking five and striking out seven. Reifer relieved Evans when he reached the PIAA pitch limit in the sixth, got the final out and pitched a scoreless seventh.
Lattrell Baronner got Wiliamsburg on the board in the fourth when he singled home Ethan Reffner, but Evans limited the damage by stranding two runners. Gorsuch singled in Anthony Neri to make it a 5-2 game in the sixth, but the team stranded two runners in the inning as well. Williamsburg left 10 runners on base in all.
"We had opportunities, but we just couldn't bunch any hits together," Williamsburg coach Jerry Palmer said. "(Evans) pitched well. He's a tricky pitcher. He doesn't throw the high, heavy heat. He keeps you off balance."
Barroner had two of the team's five hits. Rocco Reifer, Evans and Cervenak each had two hits for Mo Valley.
Williamsburg's season ends at 8-10.
"We have five freshmen and two sophomores starting. Just two seniors. We've got a team coming, but it's tough when you only field a 10 or 11-man team at this level," Palmer said. "Rowan and Luke Uplinger are our only two seniors. They're both all-ICC players. We're going to miss them a lot."
MOSHANNON VALLEY (5): Z. Reifer 3b-c 210, T. Kephart cf 221, R. Reifer c-p 412, Evans p-1b 402, C. Reifer cr 000, Smith 1b-3b 401, Abernethy ss 401, Cervenak lf 202, Mital rf 300, B. Kephart 2b 311. Totals 28 5 9.
WILLIAMSBURG (2): Uplinger c 300, Gorsuch p-3b 301, Clark ss 200, Brantner cf 300, Reffner 3b-p 311, Becker 1b 200, Parks ph 100, Lower 2b 200, Barroner 302, Neri 311. Totals 25 2 5.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Moshannon Valley 000 140 0 - 5 9 0
Williamsburg 000 101 0 - 2 5 1
E--Gorsuch. 2B--T. Kephart. RBI--R. Reifer 2, Abernethy 2, Cervenak, Gorsuch, Barroner.
PITCHING
Moshannon Valley: Evans (W) 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2ER, 5 BB, 7 SO. R. Reifer (SV) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO
Williamsburg: Gorsuch (L) 6.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 SO. Reffner 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
Records: Moshannon Valley (8-8); Williamsburg (8-10).
Umpires: Jim Rivello Sr., Klayton Heffner, Todd Lemin.