JACKSON TWP — The monkey on the back of the Seneca Valley baseball team was on the verge of turning into the ball and chain that kept the Raiders out of the playoffs.

Seneca Valley carried an 0-3 section record into Wednesday afternoon’s game against Shaler, but the Raiders received a complete game from sophomore pitcher Cory Greiner and made the Titans pay for six errors in a 5-1 Section 1-6A win at Raider Field.

“This was a playoff game for us,” said SV coach Eric Semega. “I know they take the top four out of six teams to the WPIAL playoffs, but you’re probably going to have to win six section games to get in. If you start 0-4, you probably aren’t going to win six in a row.”

The Raiders still have an uphill climb, but Wednesday’s win could turn out to be the spark the team needs.

“This puts us back in the mix,” said Greiner, who threw 100 pitches, striking out two and walking two. It was his escape act in the top of the second inning that gave the Raiders an early boost.

The southpaw began the inning by allowing an infield single to Adam Zulka, hitting Nick Cavacini with a pitch and walking Derek Maloney to load the bases.

But Greiner buckled down, striking out Anthony Friel before allowing a sacrifice fly to Hunter Jamison that scored courtesy runner Evan Donovan. Kevin McHale then struck out to end the inning.

“A single, hit-batsman and a walk to start an inning, that’s a recipe for more than one run,” said Semega. “It was good to see us get out of it.”

“Getting out of that with just one run was huge,” said Greiner. “It gave me more confidence.”

The Titans’ slim lead was short-lived, due in large part to the team’s poor defense behind starting pitcher Christian Seelhorst.

After Joey Kozlina doubled in Justin Dattoli to tie the game in the bottom of the second, Shaler committed three errors in the frame, allowing SV to score two unearned runs for a 3-1 edge.

“We usually field pretty well,” said Shaler coach Brian Junker. “I was disappointed in our energy and effort today.”

Greiner stymied Shaler’s offense the rest of the game, allowing just three baserunners over the final five innings. He set the Titans (8-4, 2-2) down in order in the fifth on just six pitches.

“All three of my pitches were working today — fastball, knuckleball and change-up,” Greiner said. “I started throwing the knuckleball in Little League and just worked on it since then.”

The Raiders (6-5, 1-3) added an insurance run in the fifth and another in the sixth. In the first sequence, Mike Collins reached on an error and scored on Brett Steinle’s double.

In the sixth, Andrew Funovits doubled and scored on Tyler Smith’s base hit.

Though the Raiders tallied just six hits in the game, their offense consistently hit the ball hard.

“That adds confidence to the lineup,” said Semega. “We’ve been hitting the ball well and I like our approach.”

Prior to Wednesday’s contest, the Raiders had defeated Baldwin (7-1) and North Hills (4-3) in non-section action and will take a 3-game winning streak into Friday’s crucial section clash at Butler.

Shaler 010 000 0 — 1 3 6

Seneca Valley 030 011 x — 5 6 0

W: Cory Greiner 7 IP (2K, 2BB). L: Christian Seelhorst 6 IP (3K, 0BB).

Shaler (8-4, 2-2): Corey Nasiadka 1B, Adam Zulka 1B, Derek Maloney 1B, Hunter Jamison RBI, Evan Donovan R

Seneca Valley (6-5, 1-3): Tyler Smith 2-1B RBI, Cory Greiner RBI, Mike Collins R, Brett Steinle 2B RBI, Justin Dattoli R, Joey Kozlina 2B R RBI, Andrew Funovitz 2B 2R, Anthony Cinicola 1B RBI

Friday: Seneca Valley at Butler