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To be continued …

United shortstop Shane Black throws to first during Tuesday’s game at Southern. (Salem News/Chris Rambo)

SALINEVILLE–Tuesday’s key Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference clash between Southern and United featured a little bit of everything.

In the end, the only thing that was missing was a winner.

After the two teams battled back and forth, darkness eventually won out and the Indians and Eagles were left with a 6-6 tie after seven innings.

The game will be completed at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 4 at United, after which the two teams will make-up Monday’s game that was rained out.

The Eagles (9-4, 5-1 EOAC) came into the game in a first-place tie with Toronto and live to fight another day atop the league standings after Brady Leyman tied the game with a two-run single in the top of the seventh. The Indians remain 7-5, 3-2.

“These guys never quit,” United coach Bob Manfull said. “They could have quit tonight but they battled back.”

The game did not begin until 5:30 p.m. due to United having trouble getting a bus. There was another 20-minute delay in the bottom of the first inning when the home plate umpire had to leave the game after getting nailed on the foot with a foul ball.

The two teams agreed to finish the game with one umpire.

“I don’t think I’ve ever played a high school game with only one umpire, but I thought he did a great job,” Southern coach Jason Glover said. “We talked about it with United and we both wanted to keep playing. I didn’t see any reason to stop.”

By the time the bottom of the first resumed around 6 p.m., the game became a race against darkness. Entering the bottom of the sixth inning, the Eagles held a 4-1 lead when the game took another turn. The Indians sent nine men to the plate in the inning and scored five runs to surge in front 6-4.

Sophomore third baseman Garrett Brewer had the key at-bat of the inning when he battled back from an 0-2 count before stroking a two-run game-tying single to center. Brewer then stole second, advanced to third on a single by Sam May and scored the go-ahead run on a double steal.

“I can’t say enough about the job Garrett did,” Glover said. “I think he saw seven or eight pitches. Staying alive the way he did after falling behind and then to hit the ball hard back up the middle the way he did is a fantastic at-bat by a young guy in a clutch situation.”

After Mark Soukup extended Southern’s lead to 6-4 with an RBI single, it was United’s turn to answer back in the top of the seventh.

Southern’s Josh Pratt issued three walks to load the bases with one out for United cleanup hitter Brady Leyman, who had just given up the lead on the mound the inning before. Leyman worked the count to 3-2 before blistering a two-run single back up the middle to tie the game at six.

“Southern has a good team, they always play us tough,” Manfull said. “I’m just proud of the way we responded. It was a fun game.”

United had a chance to take the lead when Parker Hydrick charged for home on a wild pitch, but the ball took a hard bounce off the backstop and Hydrick was tagged out on a close play to end the inning.

“I told him the pitch before to go on a wild pitch, we tried it and the ball bounced right back,” Manfull said. “You win some, you lose some.”

United pitcher Shane Black was summoned from the bullpen and shut down the Indians in the bottom of the seventh, leaving the two teams at a stalemate until next month.

“We started six sophomores and two juniors that haven’t played in a couple of years,” Glover said. “The way they battled back against a good team like United showed a lot of heart.”

Game notes

• Black and Antram each added a pair of singles for the Eagles. Caleb Glover led the Indians with a single and a double. May singled twice.

• It took 2:36 for the two teams to complete seven innings.

• United is at Alliance Thursday. Southern is at Heartland Christian Saturday.

U: 0-0-2-0-2-0-2–6-6-0

S: 1-0-0-0-0-5-0–6-7-0

U–Brady Leyman (5 1/3 IP, 6K, 4BB), Ethan McDevitt (2/3 IP, 0K, 0BB), Shane Black (1IP, 2K, 1BB) and Parker Hydrick.

S–Conner Lewis (5IP, 6K, 2BB), Josh Pratt (2IP, 0K, 4BB) and Josh Pratt/Conner Lewis.

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