EASTON - Sometimes it’s just not your day.

Palmerton’s offense, which clicked on all cylinders in Tuesday’s district quarterfinal game, came up flat Thursday in the semis against top-seeded Notre Dame.

The Crusaders, meanwhile, scored six runs with two outs, and received a strong pitching performance from Ben Moyzan to gain a 7-0 victory and a trip to the Class 3A championship game.

“Things didn’t really go our way today,” said Blue Bombers head coach Erick Kresge. “We were a little flat ... I really don’t know why.

“I think if we score in that first inning, it’s a different game. When you have that chance to score in the first and then again in the third and you don’t ... it kind of deflates you.”

Walks to Ethan Recker and Brock Bollinger gave Palmerton a chance to grab an early advantage in the opening inning. But Moyzan received a diving catch from center fielder Brady Hill and another fly out to end the threat.

Moyzan than gave himself a lead in the home first when he drilled a solo homer to left.

It looked like the Blue Bombers (13-10) would tie the score in the third when Recker led off with a triple. Moyzan, however, struck out two and got a ground out to get out of another jam.

“We had a runner on third with no outs and first and third with one out, and couldn’t push a run across,” said Kresge. “That’s huge.

“Against a team like this, you have to get every run you can. You have to capitalize when you have runners in scoring position. We didn’t do that today.”

After Notre Dame dodged the third-inning threat, it got a runner in scoring position in the home half. The Crusaders ended up scoring with two outs - albeit in a unique way.

Josh Herman singled, was sacrificed to second and stole third with two outs. When Jackson Shollenberger walked, he continued toward second. As Palmerton made a play on him, Herman raced home to make it 2-0.

“It’s one of those situations where our kids probably didn’t see that all year long,” said Kresge. “It caught them a little bit off guard, and they stole a run there.”

“That (third inning) was definitely the turning point of the game,” said Notre Dame mentor Mike Bedics. “They get a leadoff triple, and you’re just hoping to minimize the runs. But we worked out of it. And then little things like bunting and baserunning, things that we work on every day at practice, turned the pressure on them a little bit. Those are things we take pride in.”

Another heads-up baserunning play occurred in the home fourth, as the Crusaders scored three times to push the margin to 5-0. Joey Rivituso walked and, one out later, made it to third on Ben Gagnon’s double. Palmerton brought its infield in, but even on a ground out to second, Rivituso’s timing was perfect as he raced for home on the throw to first. A couple batters later, Moyzan delivered a two-run single.

“It’s demoralizing (to give up two-out runs),” said Kresge. “When you have two outs, and that third one is within your grasp, and you give up a run, it’s tough.”

Notre Dame struck again in the sixth as Gagnon came through with another two-out single to plate two and make it 7-0.

“I thought that was the best overall performance we’ve played all year - defensively, offensively and pitching,” said Bedics. “I was a little worried having to face Palmerton again. I thought they had a lineup that could definitely match ours. But Ben’s pitching performance was great ... he did a great job.”

Moyzan went the distance, allowing just four hits. He walked six and struck out six while throwing 105 pitches.

“He kept us off-balance most of the day,” said Kresge. “We didn’t hit too many things hard. We knew he was a good pitcher, and we knew he was going to throw strikes. He did his job today.”

HITTING STARS ... Recker had two hits for Palmerton, while Bollinger walked three times. Gagnon finished with three hits for Notre Dame and Moyzan added two - including his homer.

END OF THE ROAD ... Coach Kresge reflected on the season. “It was great to be able to play this year,” he said. “The kids were great to be around. Overall, it was a great season. We had a rough patch or two, and we had some highs, but overall the kids played great and they were fun to be around. They got better from day one. It was a real pleasure to be around them the last couple of months.

Palmerton 000 000 0 - 0 4 1

Notre Dame 101 320 x - 7 9 0

Horvath, Stuck (5) and Bollinger; Moyzan and Shollenberger. W - Moyzan. L - Horvath. HR: Notre Dame - Moyzan (1st, none on).