ERIE — Even though they hadn't played a game since Wednesday, Seneca Valley baseball coach Eric Semega wasn't worried about any rust his hitters might have developed.

The way they hit against Erie Cathedral Prep on Monday, they would have smacked that off the ball as well.

In a PIAA Class AAAA first-round game at Jerry Uht Park, the Raiders rapped out 15 hits and rolled to a 13-3, five-inning victory over the Ramblers.

Seneca Valley (19-2) will face Peters Township, an 11-1 winner over Carrick, in a quarterfinal match Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

"We played Plum Wednesday (a 6-5 consolation final win to grab the third and final PIAAberth) and played against live pitching on Saturday," said Semega.

"It's not that long a layoff, and the kids saw the ball well (Monday) and hit the ball well. They hit the ball hard," Semega added.

An RBI single by Conor Connell gave the Ramblers (13-7) an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, but the Raiders posted six runs in the second inning to send the squad on its way.

Cory Mazzoni had a leadoff double and Andrew Fornadel had a single to put runners on the corners before Tyler Bream knotted the game with a sacrifice fly.

Dan Jergel lined a perfectly executed hit-and-run single before Ryan Turner gave the Raiders the lead for good with an RBI single.

Jim Burry later brought home a run with a bases-loaded walk. The ball four pitch from Mark Passauer went to the backstop, allowing another run to score.

Gabe Grinder then capped the rally with a two-out, two-run single for a 6-1 Raiders advantage.

Consecutive RBI doubles by Turner and Shaine Patsilevas helped the Raiders post a three-spot in the third inning to build a 9-1 lead.

"(Seneca Valley) is a good-hitting team. I wasn't surprised," said Ramblers coach Mike Dombkowski. "They took advantage of our team's mistakes. (Passauer) got the ball up a bit and they took advantage."

That inning only spurred the Raiders on, as they recorded seven runs and nine hits over the next two-plus innings off relievers Mark Pompeani and James Orloff.

Meanwhile, Kyle Helisek recovered from the first inning and retired seven consecutive batters before Prep scored two runs on five singles in the fourth inning to trim the deficit to six runs.

"He did a great job," said Semega. "They had four of their (seven) hits in the infield.

"Kyle has been pitching absolutely awesome the past three games. We had no problems putting him in (Monday). No doubts about it," Semega added.

An RBI single by Dan Jergel and a double play resulted in a pair of Raiders runs in the fourth inning, while Cory Mazzoni had a two-run single with no outs in the fifth to close out the scoring.

With a state playoff win now under their belts, the Raiders can look ahead to Thursday.

"We always take these one at a time," said Semega. "We focus on this one game and don't worry about down the line. When we are at the game, the focus is on that game.

"Confidence is always good for 16-, 17-year-old kids. When you have it, people feed off of it."

Notes: The Ramblers won the District 10 title for the second consecutive year despite having lost the region two years in a row to Erie McDowell. Last season, Prep reached the PIAA semifinals. ... The Ramblers were without two of their starting players, shortstop Shane Braendel and outfielder Matt Lewis, who had broken team rules. ... Helisek struck out six and walked one.

Erie Cath. Prep 100 20x x—3 7 1Seneca Valley 063 22x x—13 15 0Matt Passauer, Mark Pompeani (3, 0 K, 2 BB), James Orloff (4, 0 K, 0 BB) and Matt Lindenberger; Kyle Helisek and Ryan Turner.

W: Helisek (6 K, 1 BB).

L: Passauer (1 K, 2 BB).

Cathedral Prep (13-7): Jason Bottoni 1B; Ryan Tann 1B; Conor Campbell 2-1B, RBI; Matt Lindenberger 1B; Bill Colt 1B, RBI; Keith Blazek 1B, RBI

Seneca Valley (19-2): Jim Burry 1B, RBI; Gabe Grinder 1B, 2B, 3 RBI; Cory Mazzoni 1B, 2B, 2 RBI; Andrew Fornadel 2-1B, 2B; Tyler Bream 1B, RBI; Dan Jergel 2-1B, RBI; Ryan Turner 1B, 2B, 2 RBI; Shaine Patsilevas 1B, 2B, RBI

Thursday: Seneca Valley vs. Peters Township, site and time to be determined