EASTON – It was the perfect storm.

Timely hits. Heady base running. Gutsy pitching.

It was a combination that had Easton on its heels – and Pleasant Valley thinking upset.

Where the Red Rovers stumbled, the Bears surged.

Then the tide turned.

Top seed Easton shook off a sluggish start with one big inning to flex its muscle and prevent an early exit in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tournament with a 10-2 quarterfinal win over Pleasant Valley Saturday.

“In a playoff atmosphere, you never know. You just never know,” said Pleasant Valley head coach Jeff Lazowski. “We kind of had them panicking there a little bit, and it seemed like … they played a little tight.”

The eighth-seeded Bears didn’t waste any time, loading the bases and getting a run in the first as Nick Gattuso (two hits) scored when Matt Burnett hit into a fielder’s choice.

A Brent Beck single scored Gattuso — who moved to third base on a perfectly executed hit-and-run — when Trevor Knappenberger singled to right in the top of the third to up Pleasant Valley’s lead to 2-0.

But the Bears left the bases loaded, as Red Rovers’ starter Eddie Olsen finished the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.

Olsen settled in, and Easton never looked back.

“They were just able to whether the Pleasant Valley storm,” said Lazowski. “He (Olsen) just stuck with it, didn’t let anything bother him too much.

“You could see early that he was maybe getting a little bit frustrated … but the sign of a very good pitcher is not letting that get to you, so there’s a lot of credit that goes to him, and his coaches, for keeping him on top of that.”

Olsen allowed just one baserunner over the next three innings, when Knappenberger reached on a passed ball after a third strike in the top of the fifth. Olsen finished with 16 strikeouts in six innings of work.

Easton struggled early to cash in on its scoring opportunities, leaving a runner at third in the bottom of the first and the bases full in the second as Pleasant Valley starter Collin Stivala worked out of trouble.

The Red Rovers chipped away at the deficit. An RBI double from Nick Yannuzzelli in the bottom of the third made it a one-run game, and an extra-base hit from leadoff hitter Luke Storm in the bottom of the fourth tied it at 2-2.

Easton broke through in the next inning, batting around and scoring six runs to take an 8-2 lead and control of the game.

“We did come out a little bit slow,” said Red Rovers’ mentor Carmelo LaDuca. “We gave them some opportunities early, and give them credit, they capitalized on that.

“We looked a little shell-shocked, to be honest with you, and not ready to go … but as you can see, we are a team that can score in bunches, and we are very good at running the bases, and those are the kind of things that helped us win.”

Storm collected his third hit and third RBI as Easton added two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 10-2. Yannuzzelli finished with two RBIs.

CLOSE CALL … With rain in the area, it seemed unlikely there would be any baseball played Saturday. Though a shower moved through less than an hour to game time – and just after the tarp was removed from the infield – the field remained in good condition, with the game starting just 30 minutes after it was scheduled to begin.

WE’RE WAITING … Easton will play No. 4 seed Emmaus Tuesday in the semifinals. The Hornets defeated fifth-seed Liberty 10-0 on Saturday.

Pleasant Vy. 101 000 0 - 2 4 7

Easton 001 162 x - 10 10 1

Stivala, Ciszak (5) and Greenzweig; Olsen, Cadmus (7) and Mazzeo. W - Olsen. L - Stivala.