ALEXANDRIA — Juniata Valley and Williamsburg went at it one more time to open the District 6 Class 1A baseball playoffs on Monday.

The Hornets put mistakes by the Pirates to good use and took an 8-4 win in the quarterfinals.

The Hornets (14-6) advance to the semifinals to take on Homer-Center. The Wildcats downed Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy 16-3.

The semifinal will be a rematch of last year’s district championship game. It’s a bitter memory for Juniata Valley as it lost 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Juniata Valley and Williamsburg (8-13) matched up for the fourth time this season. The Hornets made it 4-0 against the Blue Pirates with the previous wins being by scores of 8-7, 4-3, and 19-7.

“We’ve done this all season in when they make mistakes, it hurts them. An error with runners in scoring position costs runs. We’ve taken advantage of that,” Juniata Valley coach Jeff Hensor said. “Williamsburg is a good team. Their 1-6 (hitters) are tough outs. Their skill level is better than what their record shows. To play them a fourth time and be the man standing is very good.”

Williamsburg out-hit JV 9-6. The Pirates also had four errors, four walks and hit three batters. Williamsburg left five of nine runners on base in scoring position.

The Hornets made the plays in the field behind starter Ethan Scalia. Nate Rodkey roamed centerfield in strong fashion, tracking down long hits, and Bobby Hess continued to make big catches in right field.

An error put the Hornets’ leadoff man on base in the second. A sacrifice bunt by Rodkey and a base hit by Dmitri Boyd scored Matt Dick for a 1-0 lead.

The bottom of the third started with hits from Logan Harpster, Scalia and Elijah Johns to give Valley a 2-0 lead.

Williamsburg threatened in the fourth. William Lower tried to score from third while Nolan Carper was in a rundown between first and second but was thrown out by Boyd.

The Hornets finally got to lefty Anthony Neri in the last of the fourth. Juniata Valley scored five runs on two hits, three errors, a walk and a hit batsman.

Neri struck out the first two hitters of the frame. He got another swing-and-miss, but the ball went past Andrew Clark. He threw the ball away at third and Ricky Mease scored. Scalia singled in a run, plus two errors scored two more runs. Another wild pitch allowed a run home, and the lead went to 7-0.

Scalia pitched four innings and allowed five hits to improve his record to 6-3.

“We hit the ball hard and made plays in the field. We capitalized on their mistakes and always had runners on base,” Scalia said.

Johns brought in a run on fielder’s choice in the fifth for an 8-0 lead.

Southpaw Blake Harbst pitched two innings and gave up one hit. The Pirates scored in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Neri.

Kyler Spurlin entered on the mound for the seventh. Williamsburg tried to make a comeback with a double from Konner Harker and a triple by Ethan Reffner. Jase McCall hit at two-run home run to make the score 8-4. Scalia made a diving stop up the middle and scrambled to the bag for a force out to end the game.

Reffner and McCall each had two hits for Williamsburg. Neri struck out seven in 3ª innings. McCall and Harker pitched the rest of the game with no hits allowed and four walks.

Juniata Valley is 4-0 all-time in the playoffs against Williamsburg. The Hornets beat the Pirates 4-1 in the quarterfinals last year.

WILLIAMSBURG (4) Harker ss p 411, Clark c 400, Reffner cf-1b-ss 412, McCall 1b 322, Neri p-cf 200, Lower 2b 401, Brumbaugh 3b 301, Carper rf 101, Bigelow ph 100, McGregor lf 201, Somers 1b 100. Totals: 29-4-9.

JUNIATA VALLEY (8): Scalia p-ss 412, Johns ss-2b 411, Spurlin 3b-p 210, Dick 1b 310, Rodkey cf 200, Hess rf 400, Boyd 2b 201, Harbst p 010, Sunderland ph 100, Wright c 201, Mease ph 110, Harpster dh 221, Smith lf 000. Totals: 27-8-6.

Score by Innings

Williamsburg 000 001 3 — 4 9 4

Juniata Valley 011 510 X — 8 6 2

E –Brumbaugh 2, Clark, Lower; Johns, Scalia. 2B–Harker. 3B–Reffner. HR–McCall.

Pitching

IP: W–Neri 3ª McCall •, Harker 2; JV–Scalia 4, Harbst 2, Spurlin 1. SO: Neri 7, Harker 4; Scalia 1, Harbst 2, Spurlin 1. BB: McCall 1, Harker 3; Scalia 1, Spurlin 1. H: Neri 6; Scalia 5, Harbst 1, Spurlin 3.

WP: Scalia (6-3); LP: Neri.