The SVC's top two baseball teams battled until the final inning Friday, with Zane Trace hanging-on for an 11-10 win over Unioto, among conference unbeaten teams.
The win gives the (6-0) Pioneers a one-game lead on (5-1) Unioto with one to play in the SVC first-round.
Unioto took a 4-0 lead with one run in the first inning and three runs in the third, while Shermans pitcher Harley Patterson fanned the first eight Zane Trace batters. Jeremy Lambert stroked ZT's first hit of the game when he singled with two out in the third inning.
The Pioneers got their high-octane offense humming as they teed-off on Patterson for six runs in the fourth, then added four runs in the fifth and one in the sixth off Shermans relief pitchers.
Trailing 10-4, Unioto mounted their comeback with two in the sixth to make it 10-6, with ZT countering with one run in the sixth for an 11-6 advantage.
Unioto then scored four in the top of the 7th and had the tying runner on third, when ZT sophomore catcher Lane Larson picked off the Shermans runner at third to end the game.
Zane Trace had 13 hits in the game, but had five fielding errors. Coach Ron Allen says they had only five errors in their first 8 games.
The Pioneers stroked three home runs- including two from Isaac Beam, who went 3/4 at the plate. Austin Chaffin had the other homer, which was a key 3-run blast in their six run fourth inning. Other multiple hit games for the Pioneers came from Drew Rittenhouse with 2 hits, along with Chaffin.
Unioto had 9 hits with Ryan Burns, Cameron DeBord and Nick Ooten having two hits. One of Ooten's hits was a two-run homer for the Shermans.
Jeremy Lambert gets the win on the mound for Zane Trace with Tanner Congrove gaining the save. Harley Patterson suffered the loss for Unioto.
Listen to post-game comments from Zane Trace Coach Ron Allen on our podcast link below....