For the first four innings, Tripp Barfield and Garrett Wilson were locked in a pitching duel. The only offensive action came in the fifth inning. South Columbus (16-9) drove in four runs. Washington (15-10) answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but ultimately fell short. Behind the arm of Wilson, the Stallions earned a 4-1 victory.

Wilson was dominant through four innings, not allowing a hit. The lefty had to work out of a jam in the fifth after a throwing error by the third baseman allowed a run. With runners on the corners and no outs, Wilson picked off Tyler Harrell at first, which helped to halt the Pam Pack rally.

Wilson then struck out two of the next three batters to end the inning. Evan Pickell came in for the save in the seventh and struck out three of the four batters that he faced to finish off the Pam Pack.

The pickoff in the fifth was Wilson’s first of two that fooled Washington’s base runners. Head coach Kevin Leggett and first-base coach Rick Anderson thought Wilson had balked multiple times, causing confusion for the Pam Pack. The coaches continued to argue that the Stallions’ lefty had balked, but the umpire had no answer.

“Every time he went to pick off first his foot would cross the rubber,” Leggett said. “That tells my guys to get their lead and go ahead. And his excuse wasn’t very good. It was a ‘how am I supposed to see it from my position.’”

On the other side, Barfield also ran into trouble in the fifth after a nearly flawless four innings. The first batter, Mike Byers, reached base safely after taking a fastball to the helmet. Barfield then sat down the next two Stallion batters.

Byers swiped second base to get in scoring position and Mason Benton drove him in with a single up the middle. Benton’s hit sparked a two-out rally, as the Stallions racked up four consecutive singles.

Offensively, Washington had no trouble making contact at the plate, but could not find the gaps. The Pam Pack left four runners on the bases and after scoring a run in the fifth, the offense stalled again. Washington did not record a hit in the final two innings, striking out three times in the seventh.

“It’s tough,” Leggett said. “It’s kind of what we’ve done all year long. We haven’t been able to find the holes a lot of times, especially lately. We’ve hit it right to guys.”