Midnight arrived a little earlier than had hoped for Pleasant Valley’s Cinderella softball team Monday night - at 8 p.m. to be exact.

That’s when Nazareth was putting the finishing touches on a 10-0 victory over the Bears in the championship game of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

After upsetting both No. 2 seed Emmaus and No. 3 seed Parkland in the opening rounds of the tournament, the No. 7 seed Bears finally ran out of magic as Nazareth rolled to a six-inning mercy-rule shutout.

“Nobody expected us to be in this game,” Bears’ coach Steve Caffrey said. “But we’ve cleaned up a lot of the problems we had earlier in the season and have been playing well lately - except for tonight. We could have made better adjustments at the plate. We had too many swings and misses.

“But now it’s time to turn the page quickly - which won’t be easy - and get ready for the start of the districts on Thursday.”

The first two innings were scoreless as Nazareth’s Avery Kauffman and Pleasant Valley’s Kailyn Getz mowed through the opposition without a problem. Kauffman struck out five of the first six hitters she faced on her way to a 10-strikeout, complete-game performance. Meanwhile, Getz retired six straight batters as well - the first three on groundballs and the next three on fly outs.

Pleasant Valley got the first hit of the game in the top of the third on a ground ball single to center by freshman Rylan Knapp. She was sacrificed to second base, but Kauffman ended the scoring threat by striking out the next two hitters.

The Eagles (19-4) then struck for the game’s first runs in the bottom of the frame.

Emma Infantino walked, but was caught stealing on a perfect throw from Bears’ catcher Samantha Ratti.

But the Eagles weren’t done. Three straight singles loaded the bases before a line drive by Alina Weaver was snared by shortstop Knapp. Shauna McNamee then lifted a long fly ball to the right centerfield gap that glanced off the centerfielder’s glove for a bases-clearing double and a 3-0 Nazareth lead.

After the game, Caffrey pointed to the near catch as a pivotal moment.

“If we make the catch, the inning ends and the game is still scoreless,” he said.

In the top of the fourth and after two were out, Pleasant Valley failed to plate Brianca Pridham, who reached on an error, and Ratti who had walked.

“We had a chance right there,” said Caffrey, “and then in the fifth we had a better opportunity to get back in the game.”

Down 4-0 after an RBI single by Nazareth’s Infantino, the Bears (14-7) failed to take advantage of a huge scoring opportunity in the top of fifth.

Knapp crushed a double to right center to open the frame and moved to third on a groundout to the pitcher. She was thrown out at home on a groundout for the second out. With Allison Borger on first by way of that fielder’s choice, Krock singled and Kailin Getz waked to load the bases. But Kauffman recorded another key strikeout to end the inning.

The Eagles broke the game open in the bottom-half of the fifth. Lilly Moretti reached on an infield single and Weaver walked. A fly out moved Moretti to third with one away before a fielder’s choice scored her. RBI singles by both Natalie Chloros and Infantino made it 7-0 before a Bears’ error scored the inning’s final run.

The Eagles finished the game in the sixth with two more runs on two hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly.

Despite the loss, Caffrey remained upbeat.

When asked if he’s still having fun coaching in his 31st year, Caffrey smiled. “As long as the kids have fun playing, then so am I.”

BIG BATS ... Leading the offensive attack for Nazareth was McNamee with three RBIs. Knapp had two hits for the Bears.

SWING TIME … All of Kauffman’s strikeouts were from swinging third strikes. She was on her game all day long, allowing the Bears just three base hits and no runs.

TOUGH MATCH UP … The Bears will play Emmaus on Thursday in the first round of the D-11 6A tournament. The Hornets will seek to avenge a 4-2 loss to the Bears in the EPC quarterfinals.

Pleasant Valley 000 000 - 0 3 3

Nazareth 003 142 - 10 10 1

K. Getz and Ratti. Kauffman and Mandala. W - Kauffman. L - K. Getz.