There was a time this season in which the Moon Area baseball team was 3-6.

To be 3-6, well, that wasn't at all acceptable.

"Yes, that start we had this year wasn't what you normally see out of our program," coach Dom Santeufemio said. "You battle through it, though."

Moon sure did, and when a 9-10 regular season record was good enough to grab a spot in the WPIAL field, the Tigers seized the new life, going on a stellar playoff run that ended in the PIAA semifinals on Monday night.

The Tigers beat Yough and Blackhawk in the WPIAL playoffs before stumbling against Hampton. But, a win in the WPIAL consolation game against Montour pushed the Tigers into the PIAA field where they dispatched Grove City and Hampton before losing, 8-2, against Pine-Richland with a trip to Altoona and the PIAA title game on the line.

"Plus we won our last three [Section 3-AAA] games of the year just to get into the playoffs and give ourselves a chance," Santeufemio said, citing victories against Ambridge, Keystone Oaks and Montour in the twilight of the regular season.

"That said a lot about us when we won those ones there. That said that no matter what went on in the past, you could still pull together and take care of the games in front of you."

The loss to Pine-Richland marked the end of the line for all the seniors, but, particularly catcher Casey Williams, who has been a stalwart offensively and defensively the past few seasons.

Williams hit seven home runs this season and was often pitched around because just about all the opponents knew of the Bucknell football recruit's ability to change the course of a contest with one swing.

"I can't say enough about how we're going to miss Casey and what kind of leader and player he was for us," Santeufemio said. "Think about it, he hit seven home runs, but he also hit three balls to the 410 mark at Falconi Field in games that we played.

"Those are gone, I mean, they are home runs anywhere else we play. There are just a few kids, him and [former Moon standout] Austin Sykes who are kids that have come through our program who can hit the ball out of the park, to all fields, and do so with not a whole lot of difficulty. Some kids, it takes every bit of energy they have, but with Casey, he could hit 420-foot blasts and he did it with a natural swing."

The tough part is that Williams won't be there for the Tigers next season, but the flip side of that is that Moon has some stockpiled talent. After all, a program that has molded itself into one of the finest in the WPIAL seems to always have prospects coming up.

First and foremost next year -- at least offensively -- will be Tom DeAngelis, who was a junior this season. He hit around the .375 mark this season after hitting close to .500 during his sophomore campaign. He'll be counted on to provide power and hit for average in the middle of the Tigers' lineup.

Brian Walsh, who will be a junior next season, will also be looked upon to provide punch in the meat of the lineup, if he plays baseball.

Walsh is a Division I basketball recruit and there have been rumblings that his full focus could shift away from baseball.

In addition, Corey Gracey will be a senior next season and Santeufemio said he struggled with pitch recognition a tad this season, but next year the staff expects big things from him.

The Tigers look to be solidified on the mound for next year, as Bryce Goldbach -- who will be a senior -- has established himself as the No. 1 guy and Ryan Orlovsky, who will also be a senior, was impressive this year, winning five games.

"It is tough that this season is done, because this group was full of hard-working kids and they really pulled together at the end," Santeufemio said. "But, there is always next season and I know the kids we have coming back will be motivated to try to improve on this year."