NORTHAMPTON — Cam Eaton tried to lure Pleasant Valley’s defense.

Unfortunately for the Bears, they took the bait.

Eaton’s clever baserunning Saturday resulted in the game-winning run as Northampton gained a 2-1 walk-off win over PV in the quarterfinal round of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playoffs.

Tied heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the K-Kids’ right fielder led off with a single to left. After moving to second on a sacrifice bunt, Eaton got a big secondary lead on the first pitch to Justin Taylor — and the Bears noticed. After the second pitch, PV threw down to second in hopes of picking the runner off.

But as the ball was thrown behind him, Eaton took off for third. The hurried toss to third was then thrown away, allowing Northampton to pull out the victory.

“I saw it in his eyes with the previous pitch that that’s what he was trying to set up,” said Mick Sugra, the Kids’ head coach. “I said to him he was already in scoring position ... but I knew it was coming. He’s a very smart kid and has a very good baseball IQ, so the way this game went, it is what it is and we’ll take it.”

“It’s a double-edged sword there,” said PV mentor Jeff Lazowski. “I have all the confidence in the world and I believe in my guys, but you never really want to throw behind the runner. But that’s baseball and that’s how it goes. You have faith in your guys and prepare as much as you possibly can so when they get in situations like that, they make a right decision or a committed decision. They committed, and unfortunately for us, they were able to scratch out that run and win the game.”

The win not only propelled Northampton (18-3) to a berth in the EPC semifinals – it also brought an abrupt end to a pitching duel between Evan Zwolenik and Tyler Horton.

Zwolenik, the Kids’ left-hander, allowed only four hits and two walks (one intentional) and struck out eight. PV’s Horton kept Northampton hitless through the first three frames, eventually giving up five singles. Horton walked one and fanned four.

“That was a stellar effort,” said Lazowski of his hurler. “That was everything you could ask for from a pitcher. He battled, did what he needed to do. He wasn’t free and clean the whole entire game, he had some tight spots, but he proved he could be out there in any situation. I’m very proud of the way he went about today’s game.”

Horton ran into some trouble in the fourth, giving up the game’s first run. But the damage could have been much worse.

A single, an error and a sacrifice put two runners in scoring position with one out. With the infield drawn in, Isaac Tucker ripped a ball to short that was too hot to handle. One run scored, but Bears left fielder Mychal Kearns fired a strike to catcher Dallas Greenzweig to cut down a possible second run.

One batter later, Eaton also singled to left. And once again, Kearns came up throwing to nail a second runner at the plate.

“We had the big hit, bringing the kid around third base, and he gets banged at home,” said Sugra. “The next play, the same exact thing. It was the same situation, the ball just getting to the kid as our kid’s getting to the bag. So I’m waving him again, and two helluva’ good throws by the leftfielder to make those plays.”

Kearns also did damage at the plate.

In the top of the fifth, Ryan Purgar singled and moved to second on an error. Kearns, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, delivered a single up the middle to plate Purgar and tie the game at 1-1.

PV (13-8) threatened in the seventh, getting a runner to third with two outs, but Northampton intentionally walked pinch-hitter Dan McEvoy, and got out of the inning when Zwolenik induced a groundout.

“We have to look forward now to districts,” said Lazowski. “We might have a day or two off and recharge the batteries. But, we have our goal in mind for the season, and we’re going to have get back out there.”

MOUND EFFICIENCY ... Horton kept his pitch count low, as he threw just 68 pitches through six innings and finished with 74, including 48 for strikes.

GIVING CREDIT ... Sugra had nothing but praise for PV. “They’re a lot better team than their record, and we knew that coming in. They’re a scrappy team, they play the game the right way, they play the game hard, and they play the game with a lot of energy. We expected a battle here today, but never did I imagine the game ending like that. It’s a tough one for them, but we really had a good year, and we got a bounce to go our way there.”

Pleasant Valley 000 010 0 - 1 4 4

Northampton 000 100 1 - 2 5 2

Horton and Greenzweig; Zwolenik and Cooper. W - Zwolenik. L - Horton.