Trailing 4-0 in a must-win game, senior center fielder Ethan Sloane looked into the eyes of his Knoch teammates.

There was no surrender.

It would have been somewhat understandable had Sloane seen that. After all, the Knights' baseball team had lost three games in a row and had watched their tenuous grip on a WPIAL playoff spot nearly slip away.

“We just battled,” Sloane said. “We came out here and got down early, but we rallied. That just shows what kind of team we are.”

Knoch shrugged off that early deficit with an epic five-run rally with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning and held on for a 7-6 victory over Highlands Wednesday evening at Michelle Krill Field at Historic Pullman Park.

The win clinched a spot in the WPIAL 4A playoffs.

“We're never down,” Sloane said. “We're never out of it. We know we can do anything — we scored 12 runs in one inning against Indiana. We pick each other up in here. Nothing bad. Always positive.”

Things unraveled for Knoch in the top of the third inning after the Knights and starting pitcher Jack Bartek had escaped danger unscathed in the first two innings.

Highlands (10-8, 6-6) got to Bartek with five hits in the frame, including a two-run double by Tanner Nulph and RBI singles by Jett Slepak and Trent Bielak.

But Knoch (10-6, 6-6) responded with an important run in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of some sudden wildness from Highlands starting pitcher Slepak, who uncorked three wild pitches and walked two in the inning.

The Knights took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth after two quick outs.

Isaac Roddy began the rally with a walk.

“Two outs, nobody on base — they could have been like, 'Well, this inning is over,'” said Knoch coach Sean O'Donnell. “Isaac draws a walk and we end up scoring five runs that inning with two outs. Definitely proud of them.”

Guy DeLeonardis delivered the big blow of the inning against Highlands relief pitcher Noah Gillette with a two-run single.

DeLeonardis was 2-for-3 with a double in the win.

“I hardly ever throw (batting practice) before a game, but I did today because of Senior Night,” O'Donnell said. “When we were done, I came in here and said, 'Guy's going to have a big game today because he was ripping it in the cage.'”

Knoch needed every run it got.

Highlands cut the Knights' lead to 6-5 in the top of the sixth on a RBI double by Luke Beer.

Knoch tacked on an insurance run on the bottom of the sixth inning on a wild pitch — the sixth of the game by Rams' pitchers — but left the bases loaded.

It almost came back to haunt them.

Highlands finally chased Bartek with one out in the seventh after a RBI single by Slepak. The Rams had two runners on with one out, but sophomore Gavin Phillips got a strikeout and a fly out in relief to end the game and send the Knights into celebration.

“A lot of sophomores would have maybe panicked, but Gavin pitched a lot for us last year as a freshman,” O'Donnell said. “I think that helped him. He has a great demeanor on the mound and he rallied and fought back and got us the win.”

Now what has been an up-and-down season for Knoch will soon get reset.

The Knights know first-hand that anything can happen in the playoffs. Last season, they won the section title but were ousted in their first playoff game after a bye.

“I think they're a confident bunch,” O'Donnell said. “I think their goal is to get in and then anything can happen.”

Sloane echoed that.

“We can beat any team in the playoffs,” Sloane said. “We just have to play our game and do our thing and we'll be good to go.”

Highlands 004 001 1 — 6 12 1

Knoch 001 501 x — 7 8 2

W: Jack Bartek 6.1IP (6K, 0BB). L: Noah Gillette 2.1IP (4K, 4BB). SV: Gavin Phillips 0.2IP (1K, 0BB)

Highlands (10-8, 6-6): Zac Kuniak 1B, Jonny Crise 1B, Gillette 1B, Tanner Nulph 2-2B 2-RBI, Jett Slepak 2-1B 2-RBI, Trent Bielak 2-1B 2B RBI, Luke Beer 2B RBI, Mikey Magdenic 1B

Knoch (10-6, 6-6): Isaac Love 2-1B, Ethan Sloane 2-1B, Sean McGill 1B RBI, Eli Sutton 1B, Guy DeLeonardis 2B 1B 2-RBI

Thursday: Knoch at Armstrong