POTTSVILLE – It all came down to execution — and Schuylkill Haven did it a tad better than Panther Valley Sunday afternoon at Steidle Baseball field.

There were plays that were highlighted — some made and some not — by both teams.

The Hurricanes eventually prevailed when Mason Ulsh, a terrific right-handed senior pitcher, finished off a nifty seven-hit complete game, helping his team earn a return trip to the District 11 Class 2A championship game.

Ulsh’s effort was enough to give Haven a 3-2 semifinal victory over the Panthers.

“We just wanted to get back where we belong,” said the slightly built Ulsh in reference to Wednesday’s title game against Williams Valley — Haven’s seventh straight trip to the finals. “I just wanted to throw strikes and get this team where it needs to be… Coca-Cola Park.”

Late in the game, that outlook was in jeopardy, as Panther Valley came storming back and was within one hit of possibly going on top.

The Hurricanes were clinging to a 3-1 lead with two outs and no one on base in the PV sixth. But a booted ball off the bat of Wyatt Zimmerman opened the door. Josh Robin quickly responded with a first-pitch single, setting the table for Jake Taras, who promptly smoked an RBI double.

With the tying and go-ahead runs on base, Ulsh never wavered and found a way to record the seventh of his 10 strikeouts to wiggle out of the jam. He then proceeded to strike out the side in the seventh to nail down the victory.

“He just does that,” said Haven coach Scott Buffington in reference to Ulsh’s fantastic control. The winning pitcher threw 103 pitches, 79 for strikes. “He’s poised, he’s confident, his rhythm is very good ... he does exactly what you want a pitcher to do.”

Ulsh carved up the Panthers with curve balls by the gross, to which Panther Valley coach Rich Evanko said: “We looked like we had never seen a curveball. Our swings were lazy. We were swing ingmore at the motion than we were at the curveball.”

Ulsh wasn’t alone when it came to stellar pitching, however, as Panther Valley senior Brad Buzzard allowed just four hits to keep his team in the game.

“Brad gave us a great effort,” said Evanko. “We hurt ourselves defensively in the second inning when they scored all their runs.”

Two errors in the second helped the Hurricanes take the lead. Austin Clauser doubled to start the inning. A walk to Shawn Davis and an error filled the bases before Jack Higgins singled in the first run of the game. A routine ball batted back to the pitcher was thrown away by Buzzard, allowing the second Haven run to score before a bases-loaded walk capped the inning.

“(Brad) just forgot the situation,” Evanko explained about the play that saw Buzzard look to throw to second before he wheeled to go home after realizing the bases were filled.

The Panthers rallied in the top of the third for their first run. With one out, Chuck Byers singled, but was forced out on a grounder by Mason Goida. Buzzard helped his cause with a slashing single to left and Aaron Miller stroked a run scoring single, plating Goida.

But Ulsh escaped the jam without allowing any more runs.

“He pitched backwards,” said Evanko about the curveball first and the fastball as his out pitch. “His curveball was his main pitch and his fastball a secondary pitch.”

Despite the loss, Evanko was proud of what his team accomplished during its 15-8 season.

“These seniors are why we got to where we did,” he said. “They battled.”

MAKING IT WORK … The ball can take funny bounces, and when Taras hit his double to plate the second PV run, it took a perfect bounce to outfielder Kobe Brish. Had it gone a little more to the right of Brish, it could have meant the tying run.

TOSSING IT UP … Both pitchers were excellent from start to finish. Buzzard also went the distance with a 106 pitches — 68 for strikes, recording six strikeouts and three walks.

HITTING IT SOMEWHERE … PV’s Taras doubled and singled and Miller singled twice, Byers, Buzzard and Robin each singled. Haven’s Austin Clauser roped a double, adding one single were Davis, Higgins and Jeremy Hughes.

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Buzzard and Taras; Ulsh and A. Clauser. W - Ulsh. L - Buzzard.