Karns City’s uphill climb became even steeper before the Gremlins picked up their bats.

They found themselves in a 3-0 hole while facing Cranberry star left-hander Dylan Cyphert. The University of Pittsburgh recruit went on to scatter five hits, leading the Berries to a 5-1 victory in a District 9 Class AA baseball semifinal playoff Wednesday at Kelly Automotive Park.

“Maybe our confidence took a little hit after falling behind early, but you have to score runs to win games,” said Karns City coach Randy Collins.

The two-time defending district champion Gremlins managed a run on two hits in the bottom of the first inning — Matt Yough’s base hit plated Tyler Dunn with two outs — but Cyphert put a stranglehold on KC’s lineup afterward. He struck out 12 and walked just one to earn for the Berries a berth in next week’s title game against Moniteau.

“This was as on as he’s been this season against a good hitting team,” said Cranberry coach Patrick Irwin of Cyphert. “He had some extra pop on his fastball today.”

“We told our guys before the game to prepare to hit fastballs,” said Collins. “We weren’t trying to hit home runs, just base hits. He (Cyphert) is very good, but he’s human. We squared up some good balls, but we just fell short today. He kept us off-balance.”

Cyphert retired Karns City in order in the second, fourth and sixth innings. The Gremlins tried their best to cut into Cranberry’s lead, which was 4-1 after the top of the fifth, but opportunities were few. Hunter Schaffner singled to begin the bottom of the fifth, but was thrown out trying to steal second base moments later.

Yough started on the mound for Karns City. Though he would settle down, allowing just one run on two hits from the second inning through the fifth, he struggled in the opening frame.

With two outs and a man on first base, Brendan Zerbe walked. Mike Drzewiecki drilled a two-run triple to left-center. Tyler Gustafson followed with an RBI-single for Cranberry (13-4).

“That put us at ease,” Irwin said of the early runs. “It was huge because with three runs, we feel Dylan is going to keep us in games.”

Alessandro Marotto relieved Yough at the start of the sixth inning. He gave up a run on three hits in two innings of work.

Karns City finishes the season at 12-5 overall.

Cranberry 300 010 1 — 5 8 0

Karns City 100 000 0 — 1 5 0

W: Dylan Cyphert 7 IP (12K, 1BB). L: Matt Yough 5 IP (4K, 2BB).

Cranberry (13-4): Evan Lutz 2-1B R, Austin Rex 1B 2R, Dylan Cyphert 3B 2RBI, Brendan Zerbe R, Mike Drzewiecki 1B 3B R 2RBI, Tyler Gustafson 2-1B RBI

Karns City (12-5): Cody Deal 1B, Tyler Dunn 1B R, Matt Yough 1B RBI, Evan Stitt 1B, Hunter Schaffner 1B