WEXFORD — To grab victory, you have to catch the ball.

Knoch did neither Monday evening at North Allegheny, committing five errors and allowing four unearned runs in a 6-2 WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal baseball loss to Hampton.

“I'm at a loss,” Knights coach George Bradley said of his team's defensive mistakes. “Nothing else matters if you don't do the little things right.

“You don't see many 10-1 scores in these playoffs. Most of the games are nip and tuck. There's a winner and a loser and there's a reason for it.”

The Knights' problems began in the bottom of the first inning. Eddie Edwards doubled to begin the frame against Knoch starting pitcher Alex Stobert. He stole third and scored when the catcher's throw skidded down the left field line.

Stobert struck out the final two hitters to end the inning.

In the second frame, a collision down the first base line put an unfortunate end to Stobert's stint on the mound.

Steve Dayton hit a dribbler down the first base line that Stobert raced over to field. He bent down to field the ball in the base line and Dayton ran into him as Stobert was coming up with the ball.

Stobert wound up suffering a broken wrist in two places. The ball came loose on the play, but Dayton was called out for base-runner interference and was ejected from the game.

“Steve's hands did come up on that play, but it was a reactionary kind of thing, just looking to protect himself,” Hampton coach Gary Wilson said. “The two guys got there at the same time ... There was no ill intent there.

“Steve's a good kid, but his hands did come up, the umpire saw it and they got him on it. He was concerned about (Stobert) and immediately wanted to see if he was OK.”

Bryan Jack replaced Stobert on the mound, allowed an unearned run in the second. Hampton scored two more runs in the third to grab a 4-1 lead.

“It was a shame, losing Alex, because he's a battler,” Bradley said. “But Bryan Jack came on and pitched really well. Again, our defense hurt us. If we catch the ball, this is an even game.”

Knoch had three hits against Hampton starting pitcher David Cricks, who threw 99 pitches and struck out eight in six innings. All three hits came in the third inning.

Cole Shinsky doubled to the right-center field gap to begin the frame. Zach Junk beat out an infield hit. After a pair of Knights struck out, Chris Law delivered a run-scoring single to left.

A hit batsman, walk and fielder's choice loaded the bases for Knoch in the fourth, but a called third strike ended the inning.

“We missed some chances,” Bradley admitted. “We had a runner at third in another inning, missed a sign for a safety squeeze bunt and didn't get the runner home.

“We had one of their runners potentially out at the plate and the throw home hit a bat that was laying there. You feel snake-bitten sometimes. It wasn't our day.”

Jordan Hickey walked and scored on an infield error for Knoch in the fifth, cutting its deficit to 4-2. But Knoch never got another base runner and Hampton added two more runs in the bottom of the inning.

Seldom-used Matt Donnelly, who replaced Dayton at first base, had two singles and two RBI for the Talbots. Donnelly entered the game with only seven varsity at-bats all season.

“He stepped up big for us,” Wilson said. “It's tough beating a team three times in one season. We expected a hard-fought game today and that's what we got.”

Hampton defeated Knoch twice in section play during the regular season.

Knoch 001 010 0 — 2 3 5

Hampton 112 020 x — 6 7 2

W: David Cricks 6IP (8K, 2BB). L: Alex Stobert 1.1IP (2K, 1BB).

Knoch (8-9): Chris Law 1B RBI, Cole Shinsky 2B, Zach Junk 1B

Hampton (14-7): Eddie Edwards 2B 1B RBI, Zach Staszak 1B, Tylert Iversen 2B RBI, Matt Donnelly 2-1B 2-RBI, Tyler Merigliano 1B

Friday: Hampton vs. West Allegheny at West Mifflin