Perfection is hard to come by in baseball and Freeport pitcher Jarrett Heilman learned that Monday night.

The Freeport junior allowed just one hit while striking out 11 batters and walking none as the Yellowjackets defeated Waynesburg Central 1-0 in the WPIAL 3A playoffs.

“This win definitely means the most to me,” Heilman said. “There was a true playoff atmosphere with lots of adrenaline in front of a lot of our fans.”

Waynesburg Central was riding a seven-game winning streak heading into Monday’s game, where it was outscoring opponents on an average of 7-1.

Heilman was riding a hot streak of his own, allowing one earned run in 38.2 innings pitched heading into Monday’s game. His current ERA sits at 0.15 with a 5-1 starting record this season.

“Unbelievable game. Jarrett gave us everything he had tonight,” Freeport coach Ed Carr said. “He lives for these moments.”

The Yellowjackets took the lead in the bottom of the fourth off a Joseph Hotalski sacrifice bunt to bring in Zach Allen for the only run of the game. Heilman’s perfect game bid fell short when Waynesburg’s Jesse Johnson got a two-out single in the top of the sixth.

“After I went 1-2-3 in the first inning I was feeling pretty good,” Heilman said. “Waynesburg is a good hitting team and after we got the one run in the fourth, my confidence grew.”

Freeport now looks ahead to Wednesday as it prepares for a familiar foe in Steel Valley. The Yellowjackets fell to Steel Valley 10-4 in early April, but were able to defeat the Ironmen 3-0 a few weeks back.

“It should be a very good game on Wednesday,” Carr said. “I think they’re one of the best hitting teams in the WPIAL. They’re athletic, very talented and I expect them to give us their best.”

Waynesburg Central 000 000 0 — 0 1 1

Freeport 000 100 0 — 1 4 0

W: Jarrett Heilman 7IP (11K, 0BB). L: Robinson 6IP (8K, 3BB).

Waynesburg Central (12-6): Jesse Johnson 1B

Freeport (14-5): Matt Mitchell 2B, Austin Kepes 1B, Zach Allen 1B, Joseph Hotalski 1B

Wednesday: Freeport vs. Steel Valley, site and time to be determined