The Humboldt B52s scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on the way to pulling out an 11-5 win over the Humboldt Eagles 19U at Bomber Field on Monday night.
The win brought an end to an exciting and hard-fought summer series between these two county rivals, with the B52s taking the rubber match and edging the series 3-2.
But they had to fight for this one, withstanding a mid-game rally by the visitors and closing out the stronger of the two.
A Cameron Saso bases-clearing double off the outfield fence tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the fifth, but it was all B52s after that.
They answered immediately with two runs on back-to-back RBI singles by Matt Mascio and Cody Banks in the bottom half of the inning to re-take the lead.
Eric Smelko had a big night at the plate for the B52s, finishing 3-for-5, while starter Keegan Beebe got the win on the mound.
Beebe, who improved to 3-0 on the season, gave up five runs on four hits in five innings, while striking out eight.
Tommy Gale and Justin Smith pitched four shutout innings between them to close out the game.
The Eagles, who have a big week ahead of them, used four pitchers sparingly.
For the B52s, Banks finished with two hits and a pair of walks, while teammate Braeden Holliday was 2-for-4 and Jeff Giacomini had a double.
The Eagles managed just five hits in the loss, including a double by JB Lewis.
Cody Emmons, Gannon Cyphers and Kalebh Hill each also had a hit, with Emmons also stealing two bases.
The Eagles, who are now 32-10, will play the Humboldt Crabs at the Arcata Ball Park on Tuesday night, before traveling to Woodland to compete at the NorCal tournament later in the week with a place in the state tournament on the line.
The B52s, who improved to 21-9, will host the Ukiah Hawks this weekend.
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Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.