MIDDLETON — Behind a stellar postseason debut by Eric Diffily, No. 6 North Reading defeated No. 3 North Shore Tech 3-1 in the Division 3 North quarterfinals yesterday.

The Hornets advance to face No. 10 Georgetown in the semifinals tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Fraser Field in Lynn.

In his first tournament start, Diffily, a junior, allowed four hits, struck out three, walked three and did not allow an earned run in a complete-game effort. He was also able to pitch his way out of a few tough spots.

"He got himself in and got himself out of jams," said North Reading head coach Frank Carey. "He was jacked up and started to overthrow the ball a bit. I don't usually go out to the mound, but I wanted to tell him to shorten his stride. Sometimes pitchers get excited, especially since it was his first tournament game"

Carey called a mound visit after Diffily walked right fielder Shane Bennett to load the bases in the bottom of the fifth.

"I kept throwing high," said Diffily. "Coach came out to calm me down."

After the mound visit, Diffily delivered three straight strikes to down center fielder Chris Wheeler and retire the side unscathed.

He was helped by stellar defense, led by first baseman and co-captain Kevin Singer, who also scored a run in the sixth.

"The defense was amazing, and (Singer) is always outstanding," said Diffily. "He's an All-Star."

The Hornets used small ball to generate runs. They stole three bases and employed numerous sacrifice bunts to move the runners into scoring position.

"That's how we play," said Diffily. "Our game is small ball."

Bobby Rosano drove in one of North Reading's runs, scoring Nick Rosano with a double in the second.

Nick Rosano also had an RBI, plating Singer in the sixth with a single. Matt DiVecchia doubled and scored on an error in the first.

The Bulldogs kept the game close, but couldn't capitalize on Diffily.

"They were a good team," said Diffily. "They had a good record."

The Hornets now look ahead to the Royals. North Reading lost its only regular season contest against Georgetown, 6-5, on May 9. The Royals downed No. 2 Weston yesterday.

"We're excited," said Diffily. "We feel confident going into the next round."

North Reading 3, North Shore 1

North Reading (3): Hartwell cf 4-0-1, Barretto 2b 3-0-0, DiVecchia 3b 2-1-1, Singer 1b 3-1-1, Cady dh 4-0-0, N. Rosano c 4-1-2, Calos lf 3-0-0, Vacca rf 3-0-1, B. Rosano ss 3-0-1. Totals 29-3-7

North Shore Tech (1): White dh 4-0-0, D'Ambrosio 2b 3-0-0, Frazier c 3-0-0, Mahan 3b 2-1-1, St. Pierre ss 2-0-0, Newman 1b 3-0-1, Rainville p 3-0-1, Bennett rf 1-0-1, Wheeler cf 3-0-0, Fletcher dh 0-0-0. Totals 24-1-4

RBI: NR — B. Rosano, N. Rosano

WP: Eric Diffily, LP: Andrew Rainville

North Reading (16-6):1âÇ1âÇ0âÇ0âÇ0âÇ1âÇ0 — 3

North Shore Tech (15-5):0âÇ1âÇ0âÇ0âÇ0âÇ0âÇ0 — 1