And that’s how Montoursville got past Towanda on Tuesday in the District 4 Class AAA quarterfinals. Through five innings, the Warriors had just two hits and only three runners reach base.

Then in the sixth, Montoursville got the hit it needed. And who else but senior Kayleigh Sheleman to deliver it as she blasted a solo home run to right field for the game’s first run.

From there, the Warriors held off the Black Knights, securing a spot in Thursday’s semifinal at Elm Park.

“We knew that the pitcher (Cobb) that we were going to be facing, we didn’t know much about her, but we knew that she had good stuff,” Montoursville coach Mikayla Arnold said. “If you watch all through the lineup, we made great adjustments throughout the game. The girls that struck out, in their next at bat they made contact, and then they made solid contact. There was a lot more momentum going on behind the scenes leading up to that big hit. But hats off to Kayleigh for coming through, because when you’re playing playoff softball, sometimes one run is all it takes.”

ED BOARDMAN/Special to the Sun-Gazette Montoursville's Trinity Belle makes contact on a pitch against Towanda.

It didn’t take long for the game to turn into a pitchers’ duel. Towanda’s Leila Cobb struck out two of the first three batters she faced, and Julie Friel matched her with two strikeouts in the first inning.

Montoursville was kept off base until the top of the fourth, while the Black Knights collected hits but could not bring anyone home.

In the bottom of the third, Towanda’s Payton Perry reached on a bunt single and proceeded to steal second and third, putting herself in scoring position with no outs.

But then Friel took over, striking out the next three Black Knights batters to keep Towanda off the board.

Both teams struggled to get runners on until the sixth. After being intentionally walked in her previous at bat, Sheleman stepped to the plate and launched a home run to right field for a 1-0 lead. The homer was her fourth of the season.

KC WALLACE/Special to the Sun-Gazette Montoursville's Julie Friel celebrates her 300th career strikeout milestone in the win vs. Towanda.

Montoursville center fielder Emily George came up with a big out in the bottom of the sixth when Towanda’s Caedence Wells hit a deep fly ball to center that came just a few feet short of clearing the fence.

“Our defense knows that they can’t control base hits,” Arnold said. “Sometimes it’s just hats off to the hitter, but they can control the plays that are right at them, so they bear down, ready to make plays, and that’s what they did.”

Now holding a 1-0 lead in the final inning, Montoursville got two quick outs on a Cobb flyout and a Molly Roberts groundout. Then Friel finished it off by striking out Hannah Crawford.

Sheleman went 1-for-2, while Laney Yonkin and March Manotti both finished 2-for-3.

Friel pitched all seven innings, allowing five hits with no walks and 12 strikeouts. She also surpassed 300 career strikeouts.

ED BOARDMAN/Special to the Sun-Gazette Montoursville's Julie Friel pitches against Towanda.

“Julie is awesome. She hasn’t given up once this season,” Arnold said. “She’s gotten better every single game. She was facing these hitters with pitches that she hasn’t really thrown all season and having success with it. If that doesn’t tell you just how hard a senior pitcher is willing to work to get wins in the postseason, I don’t know what does.”

Montoursville (15-6) will face Warrior Run, which beat Loyalsock 2-1 in eight innings, in Thursday’s semifinal at Elm Park at 3 p.m.

“We were most excited for this game today, because we didn’t know much about Towanda,” Arnold said. “Our girls didn’t know much about their players, and so we’re gonna encourage them to keep that same mindset, pretending like you don’t know them, and we’re gonna be just fine.”