FAIRVIEW — Karns City's Jimmy Thompson has spent most of the season as the Gremlins' starting center fielder.

Brockway wishes he had remained there Friday afternoon.

Thompson tossed a two-hit shutout as the Gremlins closed the regular season with a 4-0 baseball victory over the Rovers at Deal Memorial Field.

The only two hits he allowed came on singles from Tony Isabella in the second inning and Mike Martino in the seventh. Thompson struck out nine Rovers and walked none.

“He came on in relief recently for us, but it had been a while since he started on the mound,” said Karns City coach Randy Collins. “He was on today. His curveball was phenomenal and he was hitting his spots.”

Thompson's fastball also caused problems for the Rovers.

“We played Johnsonburg yesterday and their pitcher was slower than what we saw today,” said Brockway coach Terry Moore. “It took us a while to adjust to it. We started hitting the ball a bit better later in the game. A lot of our strikeouts came early on.”

In fact, Thompson already had five strikeouts after just two innings.

With the game scoreless in the bottom of the third, he sparked KC's offense when he smacked a base hit to left field with one out.

Thompson moved to third on Holden Martin's double, then scored on a Rover throwing error. Martin later came home on a wild pitch and KC was up 2-0.

That was more than enough support for Thompson, who set the Rovers down in order five times.

“I didn't know much about Brockway coming in, but I really didn't change my approach,” said Thompson. “I started out against their batters with a couple fastballs, then threw my curveball. I got most of my strikeouts today with my curveball.”

Karns City (14-5) added single tallies in the fourth and fifth — Dom Callihan's fielder's choice scored Eric Dodd and Evan Stitt singled in Martin.

Brockway's pitching duo of starter Seth Shugarts and reliever Mike Martino did an admirable job, allowing four runs on just five hits. Shugarts shouldered the loss after pitching the first four innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.

“I thought both of our pitchers threw well,” said Moore. “We just came up short hitting the ball.”

Brockway's loss has put the team's back against the wall in terms of making the District 9 Class A playoffs. To qualify, the Rovers (5-7) must defeat both Kane and Curwensville next week.

Brockway 000 000 0 — 0 2 2

Karns City 002 110 x — 4 5 1

W: Jimmy Thompson 7 IP (9K, 0BB). L: Seth Shugarts 4 IP (4K, 0BB).

Brockway (5-7): Mike Martino 1B, Tony Isabella 1B

Karns City (14-5): Jimmy Thompson 1B R, Holden Martin 1B 2B 2R, Evan Stitt 1B RBI, Eric Dodd 1B R, Dom Callihan RBI

Next: District 9 Class AA playoffs, TBD