SLIPPERY ROCK — Ryan Montgomery was having one of those forgettable games.

Three at-bats.

Three strikeouts.

The Slippery Rock leadoff hitter was unfazed.

In his fourth at-bat, Montgomery lined a single up the middle to score John Sabo from third in the bottom of the seventh to send the Rockets to a walk-off, 1-0 win over General McLane in the District 10 Class 4A quarterfinals Tuesday evening at Slippery Rock University.

“You just have to put those at-bats behind you,” Montgomery said. “Every at-bat is new and you take a new approach.

“It's a great feeling to get a walk-off hit.”

The hit came against General McLane reliever Alex Leehan, who entered the game in a tight spot with runners on first and third and one out.

Montgomery took the first pitch. He jumped on the second.

“He always has a positive attitude,” said Slippery Rock coach Doug Popovec. “Everything's always positive no matter how it looks on the scorecard. I can't say enough about him.”

It was a rough way to enter the game for Leehan.

“That was a tough situation for Alex,” said General McLane coach Tom Peyton. “That's a tough position for anyone.”

The clutch hit by Montgomery made a winner out of Shane Thompson.

The Slippery Rock left-hander was masterful throughout, striking out seven, walking no one and scattering five singles.

Thompson needed just 87 pitches in his gem.

“At the start of the game, I'm just trying to find my rhythm,” Thompson said. “I was just trying to throw strikes and let my defense work behind me.”

Thompson did just that.

He also avoided a bugaboo that has plagued him all season — the big inning.

The Lancers only had two base runners through the first five innings, but got runners on the corners in the sixth and a runner to third in the seventh, but couldn't bring a run across.

“He didn't have that one bad inning today,” Popovec said. “That's what we were hoping for. He was fantastic.”

Mathews matched Thompson pitch for pitch.

The General McLane right-hander didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning.

Like Thompson, he was able to wiggle out of jams, stranding Slippery Rock runners on second and third in the fifth and the bases loaded in the sixth.

He had to leave the game with one out in the seventh when he reached his pitch limit, forcing Peyton to go to a reliever.

“He's an outstanding competitor,” Peyton said of Mathews. “There's a tough, tough kid. He just doesn't give up.”

Slippery Rock also had five hits. Sal Mineo had two of them — an infield single in the fourth for the Rockets' first hit and a triple in the sixth.

Slippery Rock will play Cathedral Prep in the semifinals Friday at a site and time to be determined.

Gen. McLane 000 000 0 — 0 5 0

Slippery Rock 000 000 1 — 1 5 0

One out when winning run scored

W: Shane Thompson 7IP (7K, 0BB). L: Eric Mathews 6.1IP (8K, 4BB)

General McLane: Mathews 1B, Clayton Boutte 1B, Josh Salisbury 1B, Dylan Sheeder 1B

Slippery Rock: Ryan Montgomery 1B RBI, Sal Mineo 1B 3B, Nick Kingerski 1B, John Sabo 1B

Friday: Slippery Rock vs. Cathedral Prep in D-10 Class 4A quarterfinal, site and time TBD