SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - The dream season for the Panther Valley baseball team couldn't sustain itself for much longer.

Panther fans had a lot to cheer about most of the season and Wednesday afternoon things were still flickering entering the first round of the District 11 Class AA tournament against Schuylkill Haven.When the Panthers (11-10) last met the Hurricanes (18-4), the upstart Carbon County team beat the Hurricanes on their home field.When the Panthers raced off with an early two-run lead Wednesday, it looked like they were poised for another upset.But things came unglued in a five-run fifth-inning rally, which led to a 7-2 win for the third-seeded Hurricanes and ended the season for sixth seed Panther Valley."We put a goal of 10 (wins) out there to make the playoffs," said Panther Valley manager Rich Evanko.Panther Valley made the playoffs and came oh-so close to getting a playoff spot in the league tournament."We changed our goal (as the season went on)," said Evanko. "We wanted to end with a winning record. No one expected us to (win). By the end of the season, teams were (throwing) their number ones at us. And it all started with our seniors. They gave us great leadership."Wednesday, the little things mounted up as a well-schooled Haven team took those little mistakes and cashed in.Panther Valley hopped in front using a Haven error to start the fifth-inning. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead on a single from Anthony Michalik and an RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of Matt Hutt. Panther Valley scored another run on a pair of Haven errors along with a Sam Stanko single for a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.Incidentally, that was the score of the last game between both teams.Haven manager Scott Buffington wasn't so sure things would end up in his team's favor."For the first several innings it didn't look that way," said Buffington. "He (starting pitcher Darren Goida) did that the whole first game when he shut us out. I don't think we got a runner to third."Haven finally got a man to third base in the fifth inning and the 'Canes finally came alive, sending nine batters to the plate, collecting five hits and finally solving Goida, who used a dipping curve and a fastball that ran in and up on hitters.A walk started things. Ethan Conage, the winning pitcher, lofted a single to center and when Bryce Moyer bunted, the Panthers failed to field the ball. The 'Canes had the bases loaded with no outs before Cole Handling's sac fly.Then came the top of the order, and Haven started to get base hits. Tyler Browne singled home two runs. Austin Clauser followed with a single for an RBI, and when Noah Saul added the fifth single of the inning, that put the Hurricanes on top for keeps, 5-2.Schuylkill Haven added its final two runs in the sixth. One came on a safety squeeze bunt."That's all about execution, and we did that well late in the game," said Buffington."Darren [Goida] did a phenomenal job from coming out of nowhere to become the ace of the staff," said Evanko, the first-year skipper. "The seniors haven't made (the) playoffs in their four years, and we put that goal out there and said to them 'grab it.' They did. The program is better than it was and you can't ask for anymore from the seniors."DIAMOND DUST … Goida got out of sync in the fifth when his curve kept dropping into the dirt. Haven started to wait for the fastball. Haven had 11 hits; Panther Valley had seven. Mason Goida, a promising freshman catcher for PV, Stanko, and Michalik had two hits apiece. Browne and Bryce Moyer each had two hits to pace the Hurricanes.SQUEEZE THE JUICE … The lost art of bunting hasn't left the Haven attack. Buffington's team plays small ball very well. The Achilles' heel: Defense. The Hurricanes had three errors.TOSSING IT … Conage did a great job of keeping hitters off balance. He threw 100 pitches, 69 for strikes.Panther Valley 000 110 0 - 2 7 0Schuylkill Haven 000 520 x - 7 11 3D. Goida, Michalik (5) and M. Goida. Conage and Clauser. W - Conage. L - D. Goida.