Gold Beach built momentum for its play-off game next Tuesday, shutting out Del Norte 2-0 in Friday’s nonleague matchup.

The only scoring play of the game came in the fourth inning, starting with a single from lead-off batter Kayla Zuber. Zuber then advanced to second as Tana Miller got on first via an error by the Del Norte catcher. Katherine Zuber stepped up to the plate next, and hit a double that sent both runners home. That was the only extra-base hit of the game.

“Del Norte is a pretty solid hitting team,” said Gold Beach coach Jerry Ross. “We made the plays we wanted to make.”

Gold Beach, the unbeaten Sunset Conference champions, used the game as a playoff tuneup.

Next, the Panthers will compete host Harrisburg in the first round of the state playoffs on Tuesday.

Going into the game, Gold Beach’s most obvious strength lies in Molly Hockema’s performance on the mound.

“Our strengths are pitching, of course,” said Ross. “We know she is gonna put the ball down the plate — it makes us ready to make the play.

“But they all [the players] do keep trying to improve, so it’s a real good sign. We know we have to be ready defensively and try to improve every game. We’ll take care of business Tuesday.”

Ross and his team have been working in practice to make those improvements. He has put an emphasis on batting speed, situations and defensive coverage, claiming that steady improvement is key. Even since the beginning of the season, he has pushed for improvemnt.

“We have been working a lot on batting speed, moving the pitching machine up to get the bat speed faster,” Ross said. “We set some goals — we wanted to get better each game and we have.”

The Panthers had a goal to make the playoffs. Now they have raised expectations, craving a good finish.

Gold Beach’s first obstacle will be Harrisburg, which lost 10-9 in eight innings in the Pac-West playoffs against Regis, giving the Eagles the No. 3 seed.

“Molly’s got to pitch and we’ve got to make the plays — we’ll see what happens,” Ross said.