If the artificial turf infield of Pullman Park could support worms, Karns City pitcher Tyler Kepple would have mashed them all.

Kepple, with a sinking fastball and a sharp downward-breaking curveball, had the hitters on the A-C Valley baseball team pounding the ball into the synthetic surface on the way to a 4-1 win Thursday night.

Kepple gave up just two hits in the complete-game victory and got 10 groundball outs.

“That's what I expect from Tyler when he is pitching,” said Karns City coach Randy Collins. “He's going to throw a lot of strikes. He's gaining confidence now with every game he pitches.

“He was working location and keeping them off-balance,” Collins added. “When you're falling backward, it's hard to hit the ball.”

Kepple needed to be on point because a trio of A-C Valley pitchers quelled one of the best hitting teams in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference for the most part.

Karns City (12-1, 10-1) only managed five hits, but the Gremlins made them count.

Nick Ganter had a two-run triple in the three-run third inning for Karns City against A-C Valley starter Austin Morgan.

Ganter also had a double to break out of his funk.

“We moved him in the lineup — he's been struggling a bit,” Collins said. “I don't know if it was a mental thing or what. He was striking the ball well tonight, seeing the ball well.”

A-C Valley coach John Irwin had to juggle his pitching staff because of the schedule. The Falcons will take on Union in a doubleheader this afternoon.

Morgan went three innings, Greg Elliott pitched two scoreless innings and ace Cole Terwilliger worked the seventh.

Karns City got to Terwilliger for an insurance run when Wyatt Everetts tripled and then scored on a wild pitch.

“We played well,” Irwin said. “It just didn't fall our way. I have a doubleheader tomorrow, so I wanted to make sure I had every arm I could. You never know what you are going to need in a doubleheader.”

Karns City was coming off its first loss of the season in an ugly game against Cranberry.

The Gremlins made six errors in that game, but bounced back with a clean game against A-C Valley.

“It was nice to see the defense come back,” Collins said. “It was a good all-around team win.”

After a 7-0 start, the Falcons have lost three straight.

“I told the kids not to get down,” Irwin said. “We're all right. We're going to learn from this.”

A-C Valley 000 100 0 — 1 2 0

Karns City 003 001 x — 4 5 0

W: Tyler Kepple 7IP (3K, 2BB). L: Austin Morgan 3IP (0K, 3BB).

A-C Valley (7-3, 4-3): Jeff Eaton 1B RBI, Justice Seeker 1B

Karns City (12-1, 10-1): Nathan Weckerly 3-SB, Kepple 1B, Zach Moore 1B, Nick Ganter 2B 3B 2-RBI, Wyatt Everetts 3B

Today: Union at A-C Valley (doubleheader); Karns City vs Keystone at Pullman Park, 4:15 p.m.