Then in the blink of an eye, it was over.

The inning.

The game.

And the Tarp Skunks’ inaugural season in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.

Jamestown Tarp Skunks shortstop Chase Carlson flips to second baseman Mark Tucker for an out during Friday’s Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League quarterfinal against Geneva at Diethrick Park. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Geneva’s Jackson DeJohn struck out DiMaggio Cazares with two men on in the bottom of the ninth inning as the sixth-seeded Red Wings beat No. 3 Jamestown 4-3 in a winner-take-all quarterfinal game in front of 1,461 fans at Diethrick Park.

Geneva moves on to today’s winner-take-all semifinal game at No. 2 Saugerties. Today’s other semifinal will feature No. 5 Auburn at No. 1 Amsterdam.

For most of Friday, Red Wings starting pitcher John Gassler was the story.

The left-hander from New York University took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, striking out 10 along the way.

“I was only supposed to go three innings today. We were running low on pitching and I did what I had to do,” said Gassler, whose Red Wings only traveled with 13 players to Jamestown. “I pitched with a chip on my shoulder. We came here with something to prove. We got into the playoffs for a reason and we just proved it right there.”

Geneva starting pitcher John Gassler walks off the mound following an inning during Friday’s Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League quarterfinal against the Jamestown Tarp Skunks at Diethrick Park. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

No. 9 hitter Nicholas Serce provided the offense for Geneva.

In the top of the third inning, the left-handed hitting first baseman from Alfred State University cleared the pine trees in right field with a long home run that gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead.

“Serce is a good hitter. He has struggled a little bit, but I knew he just needed to get his pitch,” Gassler said. “As that baseball would tell you if we ever find it, he got his pitch right there.”

“He can swing the bat,” Jamestown manager Jordan Basile said of Serce. “He just happened to run into one. We he gets one, he gets one.”

An inning later, Serce struck again. Benjamin Griffin led off with a single and stole second before scoring on DeJohn’s one-out single. After another stolen base and a strikeout, Elliot Good walked and Thomas Latham was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

The man of the hour was Serce, who laced a two-run double down the first-base line to give Geneva a 4-0 lead.

“Serce was locked in today,” Gassler said. “Two-strike counts always make you nervous, but that’s when you figure out who the good hitters are.”

That looked like it would be plenty for Gassler, who retired the side in order in four of the six innings he finished. He struck out two in the first, second and fourth innings while striking out the side in the third for nine strikeouts through four innings.

“The kid threw a really good game,” Basile said. “He came in and threw strikes in a tough environment. I knew we’d get to him … but he did a great job.”

Gassler had to be bailed out of the seventh inning. Mark Tucker and Luke Turner walked back-to-back to open the frame before a flyout to right field and a pop-out to third base. Johnny Kampes then hit an RBI single before DiMaggio Cazares had the biggest hit of the night for the Tarp Skunks with a two-run single to left field.

Geneva then turned to relief pitcher AJ Gartland, who struck out Justin Bowers to end the inning.

“AJ is a dog. I knew the game was in good hands,” Gassler said. “It’s hard as a starter when you have that type of game on the line and you get pulled in the middle of the inning. … I had complete confidence that AJ was going to finish the inning.”

Gartland also got through the eighth inning unscathed before handing the ball over to DeJohn, who started the night as the designated hitter. After a pair of flyouts to the outfield to open the ninth, DeJohn walked Padraig O’Shaughnessy and hit Kampes with a pitch to move the tying run to second base.

“The put good at-bats together there,” Basile said of the first two outs. “Turner hit a line drive to right field and Danny (Hosley’s) was crushed to left-center. The ball wasn’t flying. With two outs, we never gave up.”

A first-pitch fastball and a second-pitch breaking ball put Cazares in an 0-2 hole before DeJohn finished him off with another fastball.

“There was no doubt in my mind we were going to win that,” Basile said. “Sometimes that’s the way baseball happens.”

NOTES: Justin Guiliano started for Jamestown and allowed four runs on four hits while striking out five through six innings. … Ryan Bradarich pitched the final three innings and struck out four. He was aided by a 4-6-3 double play to end the eighth inning. The seventh-inning hits by Kampes and Cazares were the only two for Jamestown all game. … Auburn beat Utica 7-0 in Friday’s other quarterfinal.