Nichirin (4-3, 4-2) strengthened its hold on second place in the Marshall County Babe Ruth league standings by defeating A-Plus Collision Center 9-2 in five innings on Monday night at Jonathan D. Hollingsworth Memorial Park.

Having defeated APCC 22-7 in their previous meeting, Nichirin got off to a fast start in Monday's contest and built a 6-0 lead through the first two innings of play before outscoring A-Plus Collision Center 3-2 over the final three frames to claim the seven-run victory.

Bolstered by their fast start, Nichirin finished with six hits and six walks against APCC starting pitcher Bryce Wunderlin and reliever Brett McGehee, but also took advantage of five A-Plus Collision Center errors, which contributed to six of their nine runs.

Two-way talent

Nichirin starting hurler Josh McKnight helped his own cause by tallying a hit, 3 RBI, and two runs scored, while Hunter Bradford and Tata Davis both added a hit and a RBI. Jay Howard, Jacob Autry, and Chase Karcheski each notched a hit for Nichirin as well.

Wunderlin suffered the loss after allowing six runs, three earned, over two innings on four hits and three walks. McGehee then replaced Wunderlin on the mound and yielded three unearned runs in three innings of work on two hits and three walks.

Although they recorded six walks against three Nichirin pitchers, APCC (2-5, 1-5) mustered just one hit overall. Catcher Brayden Gentry singled to account for A-Plus Collision Center's lone hit of the game, while Wunderlin drew three walks.

McKnight picked up the victory on the mound and allowed only one walk in two scoreless innings of work to go along with four strikeouts.. Madison Peete came on in relief of McKnight and gave up one run over two innings on one hit and three walks, before Howard took the hill and yielded one run in one inning on four walks.

Nichirin pounced on APCC early and pushed across four runs in the top of the first inning on the strength of a leadoff walk by Peete, two errors, a Stuart Warner RBI groundout, a triple by Howard, a Davis RBI single, and a RBI double by Bradford to take a 4-0 lead.

Pulling away

A-Plus Collision Center left two men in scoring position in the bottom of the first before Nichirin plated two more runs in the top of the second with the help of a leadoff walk by Denver Kelly, an error, three wild pitches, and a passed ball to open up a 6-0 advantage.

APCC trimmed the deficit to 6-1 in the bottom of the third when Gentry raced home on a passed ball after singling, advancing to second on a Wunderlin walk, and stealing third.

Nichirin mounted an immediate response and pushed their lead to 8-1 in the top of the fourth thanks to a hit batsman, an error, and a two-run single by McKnight.

Peete then worked around a leadoff walk by Jamaria Ridley in the bottom of the fourth with the aid of a 1-6-3 double play before tacking on a run in the top of the fifth on two walks and an error to stretch their lead to 9-1.

A-Plus Collision Center narrowed the gap to 9-2 in the bottom of the fifth when Tristan Underwood drew a two-out bases loaded walk, but Howard fanned the next APCC batter to keep the mercy rule in effect.