After a one-year hiatus, the Elks (9-1, 8-1) reclaimed the Marshall County Babe Ruth League title by defeating second place Nichirin 9-8 in six innings on Wednesday night.

Having won the two previous meetings against Nichirin this season, the Elks trailed 4-2 at the end of the first inning in Wednesday's contest, but outscored the defending champs 7-1 over the next four frames to forge a 9-5 lead.

Nichirin (5-5, 5-4) then made a made a last ditch effort to retain their crown and tallied three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to slice the deficit to 9-8 before the game's time limit expired at the end of the frame.

Familiar finish

With Wednesday's triumph, the Elks claimed their 13th Marshall County Babe Ruth League title in the last 14 years.

The Elks finished with a modest six hits and two walks overall, but took advantage of four hit batsmen and six Nichirin errors, which led to five of their nine runs.

Ben Taylor did the most damage at the plate for the Elks by going 2-for-4 with 4 RBI, while J.D. Crabtree (2 RBI), Nathan Thomason (1 RBI), Wilson Limbaugh, and Derrick McKnight each had one hit.

Despite having to overcome five errors by his defense, Elks starting pitcher Will Johnson went the distance on the mound to pick up the win and yielded eight runs, only two earned, in six innings of work on 13 hits and three walks to go along with six strikeouts. Nichirin also left nine runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners on base overall.

Hunter Bradford (2 RBI), Jay Howard (1 RBI), Madison Peete (1 RBI), Josh McKnight (1 RBI), Tata Davis (1 RBI), and Jacob Autry (1 RBI) all tallied two apiece for Nichirin, while Denver Kelly added a double.

Nichirin starting pitcher Stuart Warner suffered the loss on the mound after yielding eight runs, three earned, over four innings on six hits and a walk. Josh McKnight came on in relief of Warner and gave up one run over two innings on one walk.

First runs

The Elks fired the opening salvo and pushed across two runs in the top of the first inning with the help of three errors, a Taylor RBI single, and a RBI groundout by Johnson to take a 2-0 lead.

Nichirin quickly counterpunched and crossed home plate four times in the bottom of the first on the strength of three errors, a Josh McKnight infield single, a single by Davis, and a Bradford two-run single to seize a 4-2 advantage.

The Elks immediately erased the deficit in the top of the second and plated two runs in the frame to tie the game at 4-4. After loading the bases with two outs on a Iendi Biggers walk, a double by Limbaugh, and hit batsman, Taylor smacked a two-run single into left field.

Nichirin left the bases loaded in the bottom of the second before the Elks tallied three more runs in the top of the third on a hit batsman, three errors, and a two-run single by Crabtree to grab a 7-4 lead.

In the top of the fourth, the Elks notched another run thanks to a Derrick McKnight single, a hit batsman, and a RBI single by Thomason to open up a 8-4 advantage.

Close finish

Howard blasted a solo homer over the left centerfield fence in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the gap to 8-5, but the Elks tacked on another run in the top of fifth on a RBI groundout by Taylor to stretch their lead to 9-5.

Nichirin came storming back in the bottom of the sixth and pushed across three runs in the frame behind a RBI groundout by Autry and pair of RBI singles from Peete and Josh McKnight to whittle the deficit to 9-8.

Although Nichirin still had runners on second and third with two outs, Johnson bore down and struck out the next batter to secure the championship for the Elks.