(June 2nd, 2015) – PETTISVILLE: In a thrilling contest that came down to the wire, Pettisville was able to avenge a regular season loss to the Tigers of Holgate in ACME play. After Holgate got off to anearly lead, the Blackbirds pulled away in what seemed to be a game-ending effort. Yet the Tigers made a late push for the lead.

Pettisville would hold on, however, taking the contest 9-8.

Scoring a run in each of the first two innings of play, Holgate jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. The bottom of the third inning belonged to the Blackbirds, however. Putting up 4 runs in that span, they pulled ahead 4-2. They would also add 2 more runs in the fourth. The Tigers countered in the top of the fifth, racking up 2 more runs of their own to lessen their deficit to a 6-4 margin.

Another 3 run effort by Pettisville in the bottom of the fifth would expand their advantage to 5 runs. In the sixth inning, though, Holgate would make up 4 of those runs, bringing them to within 1 of their Blackbird hosts. Pettisville’s defense was enough to hold them at bay in the seventh, though, securing the win for the hometown boys.

Outhitting Holgate, Pettisville earned 10 hits to the Tigers’ 8. Both sides were a bit sloppy on defense, with 5 errors being committed by both squads.

Assuming the victory for Pettisville was Evan King. Pitching for 5 innings, he allowed just 2 earned runs off of 7 hits. He also struck out 2 batters, walking none.

For the Blackbird bats, Landon Roth and Evan King both went 2 for 4 in the contest, hitting 2 singles apiece. Garrett Young added a single as well, going 1 for 1 on the day. John Rufenacht followed suit, converting 1 of his 2 plate appearances into a single.