North scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat host Chardon on Monday, 9-6.
The Rangers recorded five singles and a double in the decisive inning.
“At the start of the inning, I said, ‘Hey, we’re only down one. Let’s put up a crooked number, and we were able to do that,” said North coach Mike Duncan. “It was outstanding.”
Braylon Rolf’s RBI single gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Hilltoppers responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game.
Chardon took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the fourth. North answered with three runs in the top of the fifth.
“It was kind of kind of a (back-and-forth) game,” Duncan said. “We’d take the lead, and we’d have it for an inning, and then they’d catch up, or they’d take the lead, and then we would tie it.”
Brady Trem hit a one-out double and scored on Rolf’s RBI single, and Jacob Breen followed with an RBI single. After Brady Pennza reached on an error, Tyler Leasure singled home Breen for a 4-3 North lead.
Chardon answered again with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 5-4 lead into the sixth.
The Rangers and Hilltoppers went in order in the sixth to set up North’s big inning.
Rolf and Breen singled, and Pennza followed with a game-tying RBI single. After a fielder’s choice led to the first out of the inning, Patrick Keough singled to load the bases, and Ethan Grinstead singled home Pennza for a 6-5 North lead.
Gerardo Torres then hit a bases-clearing two-out double.
“Everything kind of bounced in our favor,” Duncan said. “We had our three, four, and five hitters coming up; guys that had been hitting the ball really hard but hadn’t gotten any hits. They managed to find a gap and drive in some runs, and Gerardo Torres got a nice hit with bases loaded, and we were able to score all three on that.”
A walk and a double led to a Chardon run in the bottom of the seventh, but Torres recorded the final two outs of the inning to pick up the pitching victory.
Rolf led the Rangers at the plate as he finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Breen and Pennza both recorded two hits, and Torres, Trem, Leasure, Keough, and Grinstead each recorded one hit.
Torres allowed one unearned run on one hit and struck out two in securing the pitching victory. Breen started the game and allowed three earned runs on three hits and struck out three in five innings of work.
“(Breen) didn’t have his best stuff today, but he kept us in the game and kept us right there,” Duncan said. “Gerardo came in and shut them down. He started with a little bit of a control issue in the seventh inning. He walked a guy and gave up a run, but he had a couple of strikeouts and finished the game with a called third strike, so that was nice.”
The Rangers, who improved to 4-3, travel to Mayfield on Tuesday to complete a postponed game. North is leading 3-1 in the top of the fourth inning.