SAINT MARYS — One flurry of offense gave DuBois Area hope, but the rest of the game belonged to Seneca Valley.

The Raiders built a 9-0 lead, withstood a five-run fourth inning by the Beavers, and went on to post a 13-6 victory Monday in a PIAA Class AAAA first-round baseball playoff at Berwind Park.

For the fourth time this season, Seneca Valley will face North Allegheny, a 3-1 victor over Hempfield, in the state quarterfinals Thursday at a time and site to be determined.

The Raiders’ 13 runs Monday matched their season-high.

“One good thing about today was that we kept coming after them on offense,” said SV coach Eric Semega. “There were only two innings in which we didn’t score.

“Their pitchers walked a lot of our guys and we took advantage of that.”

Walks also contributed to SV starting pitcher Zach Spangler being pulled from the game in the bottom of the fourth frame. He had allowed just three baserunners combined over the first three innings and entered the fourth with a 9-0 edge.

But the first four batters of that frame reached base, two via free passes. The last batter in that sequence, Beavers’ outfielder Evan Bush, laced a two-run double to left-center. Josh Hayes then drove in a third run with a sacrifice fly. With two outs, Spangler allowed back-to-back RBI-singles to Devon Walker and Clayton Read, ending his outing after 3 2/3 innings pitched.

“Our defense has not been helping our pitchers out,” said Semega. “I thought there were a few plays we should have made out there. Zach did a good job early, but has been dealing with soreness in his legs.”

Matt Rafferty came in and, though he ended the game with four walks himself, left runners on base in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. The final out of each of those frames came by strikeout. He fanned Nick Bontempo for the final out of the fourth with runners on first and third.

“Matt brought a bit of a different energy into the game and did a nice job of holding DuBois down,” said Semega.

Rafferty had not pitched in over a month, but earned the win Monday by allowing just one run and striking out four over 2 2/3 innings.

“We had the lead when I came in and I just treated it like a normal game,” he said. “My cutter was working really well today and I used it as my out-pitch.”

Rafferty pitched into the seventh and was relieved by Jason Martin after the former allowed a pair of walks. With the Raiders holding a commanding 13-5 lead, Martin surrendered a two-out, run-scoring single to Garrett Brown before inducing Devon Walker to fly out to end the game.

The Beavers (17-5) found themselves in a huge hole before they even picked up their bats. Starting pitcher Ian Yount recorded just two outs in the top of the first inning while allowing six walks and two base hits.

Gianpaul Gonzalez’s single to left scored Jonathan Dorogy and Sam Fragale to break the ice. Later in the inning, Spangler drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Gonzalez scored on a balk. Finally, Ryan Walker was brought in and recorded the final out, but the Raiders had a 4-0 lead.

“You talk about needing to be near-perfect when you get to this level,” said DuBois coach Todd Stiner. “To spot a team the caliber of Seneca Valley a 4-run lead, it was our worst nightmare.

“Ian was fresh, but he just had trouble finding the zone,” he added.

SV’s four-run third inning included an RBI-single from Alex Hajduk and a two-run base hit off the bat of Brad Gresock.

In all, the Beavers used four pitchers, who struck out and walked nine.

The Raiders (19-4) missed out on winning a third straight WPIAL title with a 4-2 loss to North Allegheny last Wednesday. According to Rafferty, that game is in the rearview mirror.

“We were so set on getting the three-peat, nerves got to us and we didn’t treat it like a normal game,” he said. “We’re now focused on states.”

Seneca Valley 404 101 3 — 13 13 2

DuBois Area 000 500 1 — 6 10 1

W: Matt Rafferty 2 2/3 IP (4K, 4BB). L: Ian Yount 2/3 IP (0K, 6BB).

Seneca Valley (19-4): Jonathan Dorogy 2R, Brad Gresock 2-1B 2RBI, Sam Fragale 2B 2R, Carson Kessler 3-1B 2R 2RBI, Gianpaul Gonzalez 2-1B 2R 2RBI, Jason Martin 1B, Zach Spangler 1B RBI, Alex Hajduk 2-1B R 2RBI, Matt Rafferty 1B RBI, Connor Coward R, Johnny Brittner R, Vince Augustine R, Troy Martin R

DuBois Area (17-5): Devon Walker 2B R RBI, Clayton Read 2-1B RBI, Darren McKee 2-1B, Nick Bontempo 1B R, Jake Felix 1B R, Derek Heckathorne R, Evan Bush 2B R 2RBI, Josh Hayes 1B RBI, Garrett Brown 1B RBI, Adam Bankovich R

Thursday: Seneca Valley vs. North Allegheny, PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal, time and site TBD