Nathan Furl's pitching left no room for error for the Knoch baseball team.

And on this night, the Knights simply were not up to the challenge.

Furl surrendered just four hits while Mars feasted on six Knoch errors in a 12-0 victory Monday at Kelly Automotive Park.

“I'm not sure why we played like we did tonight,” said Knoch coach George Bradley, “but we have to figure it out.”

Mars led 3-0 through five innings despite having just one hit — Josh Bartley's single in the first inning — but poor defense had chased Knoch starter Alex Stobert from the game after 3 2/3 innings of work.

It was more than enough for Furl, whose complete game included 11 strikeouts and just a pair of walks. It had been almost two full weeks since the senior right-hander had last pitched.

“I've had long layoffs before, so I wasn't concerned about it,” said Furl, who, unlike his pitching counterpart, received solid defensive play. “My defense has been behind me all season and I'm totally confident with them.”

With the Knights (7-6, 6-3) still within striking distance, Mars finally got its bats going in the top of the sixth inning.

After a sixth and final error by the Knights helped load the bases, RBI-singles from Bartley and Connor McGinnis were sandwiched around a bases-loaded walk to Matt Parrish with Zachary Junk on the mound.

Mars (9-5, 6-2) inflicted more damage in the seventh. Included was a two-run single from McGinnis and a run-scoring double from Furl. When Mars finally took the field for the bottom of the seventh, its lead had ballooned to 12 runs.

Furl then struck out the side to end the game.

“This was the Nate Furl we've been waiting for,” said Planets' coach Brian Hobaugh. “Not that we doubted him before, but he just wasn't as sharp before tonight. Tonight, he pitched with a lot of grit and guts.”

As for the Knights, they, like the Planets, will be competing in the upcoming WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. Before that, both teams face Section 5 leader Hampton this week. The Planets host the Talbots today and Knoch travels to Hampton on Wednesday.

“Our defense was one of Mars' best players tonight,” said Bradley. “We had a couple of guys who hadn't made an error all year make two tonight. It was a freak thing and I'm not concerned about it. It's one game and we just have to learn from it.”

“It was just one of those nights,” said Hobaugh. “They (Knights) were off.”

Bartley ended the game with three hits for the Planets.

Mars 001 203 6 — 12 8 0

Knoch 000 000 0 — 0 4 6

W: Nathan Furl 7IP (11K, 2BB). L: Alex Stobert 3.2IP (3K, 3BB).

Mars (9-5, 6-2): Kevin Gannon 2R RBI, Ty Reginelli 1B 2R RBI, Josh Bartley 3-1B R 2RBI, Matt Parrish R RBI, Connor McGinnis 2-1B R 3RBI, Nathan Furl 2B RBI, Sam Williams 1B RBI, Noah Gasparin 3R RBI, Adam Natale 2R

Knoch (7-6, 6-3): Hyte Eurich 1B, Chris Law 1B, Asa Adams 1B, Cole Shinsky 2B

Today: Hampton at Mars

Wednesday: Knoch at Hampton