POTTSVILLE - Panther Valley held early leads during each of its two regular season games against Marian.

That trend remained true during the District 11 Class 2A semifinals between the Panthers and Colts.Wednesday afternoon, it took extra innings to tear these two backyard rivals apart.That's when Dan Keer doubled to left in the bottom of the eighth to drive in Alex Kubishin, and give the Colts a 3-2 win over the Panthers."We kept chipping away and chipping away," said Marian head coach Tony Radocha. "Sooner or later, we were going to find our groove. Fortunately for us, we were able to do it."The Panthers struck in the opening frame, when Tristan Blasko's opposite-field single drove in Aaron Miller, who walked earlier in the inning. Panther Valley then scored in the fifth to make it 2-0. Jon Hafer singled and stole second, and Wyatt Zimmerman laid down a textbook bunt, which moved Hafer to third. Ronnie Distler than singled Hafer home."You have to make some things happen and move runners over," said Panther Valley head coach Rich Evanko. "We got that run in the first, and I was hoping to get more. We made some real good plays in the field. It was one of our better defensive games of the year."Panther Valley starting pitcher Anthony Micholik was cruising, throwing a no-hitter until the sixth inning.Micholik threw into the eighth inning, giving up five walks, four hits, and striking out four."This is the third time they (Marian) saw him," Evanko said of Micholik. "The first two times, he didn't have his best stuff. He gave it all he had today, he threw a gem, and he came out with some excitement."He kept the batters off their toes. Dan (Keer) got him in the eighth. It's a terrible way to go out, but that's the type of senior leadership you want to see."Marian finally got to Micholik in the sixth.Mike Latoff, the last Colt in the lineup, led off the sixth inning with a single for the Colts' first hit. Aaron Mason immediately walked, and Alex Kubishin drove him in with a single. Keer walked next, and then Max Nolter drew bases-loaded walk to even the game at 2-2. Although the Colts had the bags full with no outs and failed take advantage of it, the game was now even, and Radocha found an optimistic perspective to keep his squad going."It showed me that we had some life and we were clawing away, ready to turn the corner," Radocha said. "I went up to Max (Nolter) and told him to get that run across, everything else after that would be a gift."He worked that walk and we were able to tie it. At that moment I thought the corner was turned."Jarod Paisley proved to be a workhorse for the Colts. He chucked a complete (eight-inning) game, yielding seven hits, and striking out five."There's ice water in his veins, nothing fazes him," Radocha said of Paisley. "His arm wasn't quite where we needed it after basketball season. So we would spot-start him and use him in relief a little. The second half of the year, he's really came on strong."Both teams went down in order in the seventh, and the Panthers were held scoreless again in the top of the eighth.Kubishin led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, and Keer bashed him home for the game-winner on the very next at-bat.GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY … Marian will face the winner of Schuylkill Haven and Minersville in the 2A championship at Tamaqua on Friday at 1 p.m.BRCTV TOP-1O WORTHY … PV left fielder Brad Buzzard made one of the best defensive plays of the season in the third inning. Buzzard sprinted toward the foul line and made a fully-extended diving catch off an Aaron Mason line drive. The catch definitely saved extra bases, and Mason might have scored if the catch wasn't made.IT'S BEEN A WHILE … Marian didn't play in two weeks, while Panther Valley was off for three. "Obviously I can't speak for them, but the layoff showed for us," Radocha said. "Our timing just wasn't there."Evanko also said it was a difficult adjustment with the long layoff. "You can't mimic game speed," he said. "But this was the second year we got to districts. The guys have a taste of it, and hopefully they want some more."Panther Vy 100 010 00 - 2 7 0Marian 000 002 01 - 3 4 1Micholik and Goida; Paisley and Nolter. W - Paisley. L - Micholik.