PLUM — One bad inning was too much for Knoch to overcome in a number of games this season.

Monday’s WPIAL first-round playoff game against Greensburg Salem could have become the latest such defeat as the Knights surrendered a three-run top of the third to the Golden Lions.

But the Knights, facing the potential end to their season, responded with the kind of play head coach Chris Gardner was hoping for.

Knoch pitcher Marlee Fraser did not allow another run and the offense took advantage of Alle Scarpa’s control problems in an 8-3 victory at Plum High School.

“I was a little nervous when we fell behind 3-0,” said Fraser, a sophomore, “but I knew we had the offense to come back. And my mind-set in the circle is to go right after it. In big games, the little things matter a lot.”

The little things were not adding up for Knoch early in the game.

Scarpa walked three batters in the first two innings, but the Knights (14-6) failed to make her pay, stranding three base runners in that span. After the Lions took their lead in the top of the third, Knoch got on the board with a run in the bottom of the frame when McKenna Brailey reached on an infield single, moved to second on Lizzie Danik’s bunt and scored on a base hit from Fraser.

But it was in the fourth inning when the Knights landed an uppercut that the Lions never recovered from.

Sylvia Luffy and Samantha Robb both reached on four-pitch walks to begin the frame. Courtesy runner Liv Foster scored on an error, one of three committed by Greensburg Salem in the game. Brailey singled home two more runs and Fraser later doubled in a fifth run.

Before the half inning was through, Brynne Smith’s groundout scored another run and the Knights’ lead was 6-3.

“We live and die with our pitcher,” said Lions’ coach Bill Wright. “A couple of weeks ago, Alle pitched a no-hitter against Uniontown and we still lost.

“We needed her to be on today and when she wasn’t, it came down to us making the plays behind her and we didn’t do that.”

Fraser was very sharp with the lead. In fact, she pitched a very good game, striking out nine with just an intentional walk. The three runs the Lions (8-13) scored in the third were unearned thanks to a pair of errors.

“Marlee’s just a sophomore, but she is so tough and hits her spots,” Gardner said.

“We’ve had bad innings this year when we gave up a number of runs and our bats haven’t always been as lively as they were today. But we got hits when we needed them.”

The Knights tacked on two runs in the fifth when Brailey doubled in Luffy and Zoey Wyant. Brailey finished the game with three hits, two runs scored and four batted in.

“She’s been in the starting lineup for a couple of weeks and a big reason why is her ability to bunt,” Gardner said of Brailey. “But she showed today that she can swing pretty well, too.”

Knoch will face second-seeded Hampton in a quarterfinal Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. In the first game of the season, the Knights committed seven errors in an 11-6 loss to Hampton.

Greensburg Salem 003 000 0 — 3 5 3

Knoch 001 520 x — 8 5 2

W: Marlee Fraser 7 IP (9K, 1BB). L: Alle Scarpa 6 IP (8K, 10BB).

Greensburg Salem (8-13): Alle Scarpa 2-1B R RBI, Patty Redinger 1B R, Gionnah Ruffner 2B

Knoch (14-6): McKenna Brailey 2-1B 2B 2R 4RBI, Marlee Fraser 1B 2B R 2RBI

Wednesday: Knoch vs. Hampton, WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal, time and site TBD