Approaching the home stretch of the season, a team wants to be playing its best ball.

With just six regular season games remaining, the Panther Valley baseball team showed various signs that it plans to do just that on Tuesday afternoon in a Schuylkill League crossover match-up with Nativity.

The Panthers found themselves down early after one, but never panicked, turning on the offense in the third and fourth innings to come away with a 5-3 victory over the Hilltoppers.

The Nativity (6-7) bats came out hot early against PV ace Mason Goida in the first, scoring two runs on two hits. Both hits came with two outs, with Keegan Brennan and Matt Coyle each knocking in a run.

A Wyatt Zimmerman bomb to left field in the second pulled Panther Valley to within a run, but the Panthers once again faced a two-run deficit after the top of the third when Coyle added his second RBI of the day on a double.

“The last two weeks with crossover games and now moving forward with our division, we know each game is going to be a battle,” said Panthers head coach Rich Evanko. “There’s no let up, and that’s how our guys played today. We got down early, but we kept a good approach at the plate, got guys on, and pushed some runs across.”

PV didn’t let up because its bats woke up in the bottom of the third. Trailing 3-1, Aaron Miller reached base after being hit by a pitch. Bradley Buzzard followed with a single, before the biggest hit of the game off the bat of Jake Taras — a two-run double that knotted the game.

The Panthers (8-5) offense stayed hot in the fourth, scoring two more runs to take the lead. Goida had the big hit of the inning with a two-run single that scored Josh Robin and Mark Kokinda.

It was the Panthers’ offense that got them the lead, but their pitching and defense kept it. Goida bounced back from a tough first inning, allowing just one run and striking out six.

PV also got itself out of serious jams in the fifth and sixth innings when the Hilltoppers loaded the bases in both frames.

“You obviously don’t want to be in those type of situations late in the game. But it kind of showed our toughness a little bit,” added Evanko. “Mason battled, and our defense kept everything in front of them. Mark Kokinda made some nice plays out there, it was the kind-of game that I think we can learn from and will help us out in the long run.”

Aaron Miller came in to relieve Goida after he reached his pitch limit, to help the Panthers close it out.

LEADERS ... Goida led the way for PV with two hits and two RBIs. Taras added two RBIs and Zimmerman had a solo home run in the second.

BIG INNINGS ... PV took control of this one in the third and fourth, scoring a combined four runs on four hits.

Nativity 201 000 0 - 3 9 0

Panther Vy. 012 200 X - 5 10 1

N. DiNicola, Brennan (6) and Ferhat; Goida, Miller (6) and Taras. W - Goida, L - N. DiNicola. HR - PV - Zimmerman (0 on)