JACKSON TWP — There was no Cinderella run to be had for North Catholic’s baseball team Monday evening.

The team that won the WPIAL crown a week ago as a six-seed could not repeat the magic in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A tournament. A series of baserunning and fielding errors and some timely — and well-placed — hits by Fleetwood’s hitters cost the Trojans in a 3-2 loss at Seneca Valley High School.

“Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve,” North Catholic coach Andy Przybylek said. “They had a couple dinks, and tip your hat to them, they got the ball inside the white lines and we hung it up a little bit in the air.”

Monday’s appearance was North Catholic’s first in a PIAA tournament since 2018, when it tied for its deepest run by making the semifinals. District 3 third-place team Fleetwood (14-8), which will face 7-3 Montour in Thursday’s quarterfinals, was making just its third state appearance (last time: 2022) and has never made it past the second round.

But the Tigers played like the more veteran team. The Trojans (17-5) smoked several hard shots off Tigers right-hander Liam Hilburt, and a few of them landed, but two costly baserunning mistakes, including a pickoff at first, and three fielding errors were too much to overcome.

Hilburt, meanwhile, was ruthlessly efficient. The junk-baller needed just 69 pitches in a complete-game effort that didn’t include a single strikeout. He featured his curveball heavily, then kept NC’s mashers guessing with a changeup and fastball.

“The curveball was there all game,” he said. “My infield made plays, and that’s all I can ask for — props to them.”

While hardly overpowering, the approach led to a showcase game from his defense. All three outfielders made highlight-reel plays, including the final out when right fielder Nate Seidel made a heads-up play firing to first on a hard-hit liner to get Alex Przybylek out by half a step. NC would’ve had two runners on with Thomas Karoly (1-for-3, one run) coming to bat.

“It shows everybody in this dugout that wants to top velocity and top everything, it comes down to you’ve gotta mix up your looks,” Andy Przybylek said.

The most danger Hilburt faced was in the sixth.

Fleetwood was clinging to a one-run lead with the top of NC’s lineup coming to bat. After allowing consecutive singles, Hilburt faced St. Joseph’s commit and Trojans catcher Blake Primose for the third time. Primose, who was 1-for-2 already with deep shots to the right-field fence, crushed a 2-0 pitch to the deepest part of center field. It landed just shy of the warning track, an estimated 395 feet, and only scored one run on a sac-fly.

North Catholic senior Tommy Koroly turns a double play in the PIAA Class 4A first-round playoff game against Fleetwood June 3 at Seneca Valley High School. Holly Mead/Special to the Butler Eagle

Hilburt escaped with another fly out to center and a fielder’s choice.

“I liked [my at-bats], I was aggressive and I felt good in the box, but I could feel a little bit getting under the ball,” Primose said. “If I didn’t get under [that last pitch], man, we would’ve been celebrating right now. Hey, it happens, it’s baseball.”

“Props to them, they’re a really good hitting team and their first four hitters, they can really hit the ball,” Hilburt said.

Meanwhile, North Catholic starter Caden Williams had to battle all evening. He struck out the first two batters of the game, then allowed the next two on before escaping the early jam.

It foreshadowed the rest of his six innings.

Williams struck out seven, didn’t allow a walk (he had a hit by pitch) and gave up just two earned runs, but four times he dealt with runners in scoring position. He got out of the jam in the first and third innings, but Fleetwood broke through in the fourth and tacked on the deciding runs in the sixth on a Nick Noll RBI single and a Dylan Young rolling RBI single that stayed inside the third-base line.

“That one inning gave us a little boost, and I think it carried throughout the whole game, gave us a little momentum,” said Young, who finished 1-for-3 and reached in the fourth inning on one of three NC errors — his courtesy runner scored three batters later.

NC’s Ryan Shantz finished 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Fleetwood 000 120 0 — 3 8 1

North Catholic 000 101 0 — 2 5 2

WP: Liam Hilburt 7 IP (0K, 0BB). LP: Caden Williams 6 IP (8K, 0BB).

Fleetwood (14-8): Nate Siedel 2B R, Carson Brey 1B R, Aiden Soumas 1B, Nick Noll 1B RBI, Dylan Young 1B RBI, Liam Hilburt 2B, Cane Cromer 2-1B RBI, Brayden Sobjak 1B.

North Catholic (17-5): Thomas Karoly 1B R, Ryan Shantz 2-1B R, Blake Primose 2B RBI, Ryker Kennedy 1B.