PUNXSUTAWNEY — Karns City was three outs away from a berth in the District 9 Class 2A baseball championship game Thursday.

The third out came too late, however.

Redbank Valley scored three times in the top of the seventh inning at Punxsutawney’s Kuntz Field and hung on for a 3-2 victory over the Gremlins in the semifinal game. Cole Sherwin was the hard-luck losing pitcher.

The Gremlins (13-6) took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Braeden Rodgers delivered a run-scoring double. Another run crossed the pate on a double play ball with the bases loaded.

“We had the bases loaded with no one out and only got one run after that,” KC coach Josh Smith said. “We needed to get more than that right there.”

Sherwin pitched shutout baseball through six innings despite allowing nine hits and three walks. He struck out three. Redbank (13-5) greeted him with a walk, triple and sacrifice fly in the seventh to tie the game. The Bulldogs pushed across another run later in the inning.

“Cole grinded this one out,” Smith said. “He got out of a few jams with double plays and line outs. His pitch count wasn’t bad and he said he felt good going into the seventh. It just didn’t work out for us. in the end.”

Rodgers had two hits for Karns City. Malik Metcalfe added a pair of singles.

“We had a nice season,” Smith said. “With a young team, we needed a few guys to step up this year and they did. I’m proud of these guys and the consistent effort we were able to put together.”

Karns City defeated Redbank twice during the regular season, 3-1 and 5-2.