GREENCASTLE — It would have been pretty hard for Greencastle-Antrim baseball coach Eric Shaner to find much to criticize Monday afternoon.

His Blue Devils played well in every facet of the game and turned in a solid 7-0 victory over Manheim Central at home in a District 3 Class 5A quarterfinal game.

Andrew Weaver

The win pushed No. 3 seed G-A (19-2) into the district semifinals on Thursday against No. 2 seed Lower Dauphin (19-2), which defeated Cedar Cliff 8-3. The game will be played in Hummelstown at 4:30. Both teams have already qualified for the PIAA Tournament (top 4 advance).

“Today was the really important one,” Shaner said. “It’s just nice to survive this round and get to states. I’m proud of our kids.”

Start with the Blue Devils’ excellent pitching.

Jaxson Bostick (5-0) rolled through 6 innings of one-hit ball, in which he walked 3 batters and punched out 7. Cam Rakaczewski tossed the final inning, allowing a hit and a walk, but keeping Manheim Central (14-8) off the board.

Shaner said, “Bostick was really, really good. He made some big pitches when he had to. When he had to come into the zone, he threw good pitches. And Rak came in and shut them down.”

Meanwhile, the Greencastle defense made just one error, to four for the Barons.

And the Blue Devils’ offense was pesky, scoring in every inning except the sixth starting in the second inning. G-A piled up 11 hits and also drew 7 bases on balls.

In the bottom of the second inning, Bo Brookens and Landon Bishop reached on singles, and Bryce Davidson moved them up on a grounder. Andrew Weaver delivered an RBI single to right and a second run scored when the ball was misplayed by the outfielder.

A leadoff single by Nolan Sullivan and walks to Manny and Bo Brookens loaded the bases in the third and a single run scored when Mason Mellott hit into a fielder’s choice.

Greencastle piled on three more runs in the fourth inning to make it 6-0. Davidson singled and Weaver walked, both moved up on a passed ball, then Rakaczewski welcomed a relief pitcher with a 2-run base hit grounded into center field.

Sullivan bunted Rakaczewski to second base, then Avery Horst smoked a line drive that nearly wiped out the pitcher to score Rakaczewski.

The Blue Devils tacked on a run in the sixth when Manny Brookens singled, Bo Brookens sacrificed him to second and Bishop’s base hit brought him in.

“I really liked that we kept adding runs,” Shaner said. “With that three-run inning, we kept their starter out there for a long time in the heat. We took some really good at-bats today.”

Rakaaczewski was 3-for-4 and Bishop had a pair of hits. Every starter had at least one hit.