CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO – Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other team.

That was the case early Thursday evening in Water Works Park, as the Black Tigers of Cuyahoga Falls turned back Saint Ignatius, 4-2, in a non-league baseball game.

“It was a better fight today, and I was happy to see that,” said Wildcats head coach Brad Ganor, who felt there was something missing emotionally in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to Benedictine, a game that saw the Bengals overcome a five-run deficit after five innings. “As disappointed as I was the other day, today we just got beat. We didn't give it to them, we flat out got beat They made the plays they had to.”

In improving to a deceiving 10-11, Cuyahoga Falls got some clutch two-out hitting by senior second baseman Chris Shaffer and senior third baseman Drew Anderson in taking a 4-1 lead into the sixth inning. Saint Ignatius combined a walk to senior center fielder Kory Gillissie, a one-out base hit by junior first baseman Mike Horejsei, a hit batsman and a fielder's choice in scoring its first run in the top of the third.

Mason Halter, the Wildcats' 6-foot-7 junior right-hander, came on in relief of Wildcats starter Brian Lehto in the bottom of the fourth and kept the 'Cats in the game by throwing three scoreless innings. Known to his teammates as “Big Country,” Halter yielded one hit, struck out two and did not walk a batter.

In the top of the sixth, junior right fielder Neal Jacobs led off with a single to left field, his second of three hits on the day. With one out, junior Tyler Kette came up with a pinch-hit single to center field and after a fielder's choice there were runners on first and third with two outs.

Senior left fielder and tri-captain Kevin Hopkins stepped to the plate and cut the deficit to 4-2 by delivering an RBI single to center.

At that point, the Black Tigers went to their bullpen and called on Bryon Holland and his more than capable fastball. The 6-7 senior ended the top of the sixth by coaxing a 4-3 ground out.

Following a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth by Halter, Holland saved the victory for junior right-hander and starter Alex Overfield (2-0) after Saint Ignatius, with two outs and nobody on in the top of the seventh, sandwiched two errors around an infield hit by Jacobs. Holland reached back for something extra and got the final out off a 5-3 grounder.

The Wildcats, who are scheduled to face talent-laden St. Edward on Saturday in the Northern Ohio Complex in Strongsville at 2 p.m., slipped to 18-6 overall and 3-5 in their last eight games.

“You get that feeling of the old line from the movie “The Natural” - 'Losing is a disease, as contagious as -----,'” said Coach Ganor. “We just need that one thing, the lightning bolt to come out and have somebody knock the cover off the ball (a la Roy Hobbs) to kind of turn it around and get us going in the right direction again.

“I still believe in these guys and I still believe we're a team that could do very well in the tournament, with the top end of our pitching. As long as they can regroup and find energy, I think we're going to be all right. Our team will be ready for the tournament, knowing those are do-or-die games and bringing every ounce of focus and energy that they have in their body.”

Saint Ignatius begins tournament play on May 11th in a sectional-final matchup with the winner of the Lakewood-Valley Forge May 10th semifinal. The first pitch on May 11th will be 4:30 p.m., and the game will be played on Talty Field in the Brookside Reservation.

CONGRATULATIONS go out to the Wildcats' junior-varsity and freshman teams, who brought home victories on Thursday. The JV team improved to 21-4 by defeating Cuyahoga Falls, 4-2, and the freshmen are now 19-3-1 after turning back the Black Tigers, 6-4.