Alliance, OH- A day after defeating Marlington to secure their second consecutive Eastern Buckeye Conference crown on the diamond, the Alliance Aviators welcomed their rival for another tilt on Wednesday afternoon.
Marlington didn't take long to get on the board, as Wyatt Dillion opened the game with a single. He would scamper home on a Dylan Heatherington single later in the inning.
Aviator hurler Valentino Fisk didn't let that early rally get to him as he retired the next two Dukes to come to the plate. From there, Fisk settled in, not allowing another hit until the 4th inning.
It was the bottom half of the 4th where the Aviator bats awoke from their celebratory haze. Senior Catcher Ryan Bruni started the rally with a 1 out single. Bo Davis and Sam Gress followed suit, with Gress' single bringing Bruni home to knot the game at 1.
In the 5th, it was Bruni putting a cap on the rally with an RBI single of his own, bringing Nate Butt in from 2nd with 2 down.
The Aviators would get an insurance run in the 6th when a lead off double by Lincoln Reese was followed up by a Gress base on balls and an attempted sacrifice bunt that was beat out by DiAngelo Fisk. Michael Blackwell brought Reese in on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
While it was Val Fisk who got the start and gave Head Coach Jeff Graffice a solid 5 inning outing, it was his younger brother DiAngelo who came in relief and slammed the door on the Dukes, allowing only a 2-out double in the 6th before setting the Dukes down in order in the 7th to secure the victory.
The win moves the Aviators to 15-4 on the year and 9-1 in Eastern Buckeye play, while the loss drops the Dukes to 10-8 and 5-5 in EBC play.