Washington answered Ayden-Grifton’s three first-inning runs with a pair of its own, but that was all the offense would manufacture. Behind ace pitcher Clay Wilson, the visiting Chargers shutout the Pam Pack over the next six frames en route to a 6-2 win.

Things started off in a strange way when Ayden-Grifton’s leadoff batter, Michael Baker, reached on an apparent dropped third strike and then moved to second on a throwing error by catcher Cooper Anderson. A well-positioned bunt by Mark McLawhorn put two Chargers on base with no outs.

The visitors kept the momentum rolling when Baker and McLawhorn scored on Wilson’s double to left field.

With two strikes on his batter, Pam Pack pitcher Cody Godley hit John Winslow. Wilson stole third, putting him in prime position to score on a passed ball. Godley and the Pam Pack, now trailing by three early on, recovered to strand a runner on third.

“Anytime there’s something weird that happens … It’s tough when you do the right things and things just don’t work out,” Pam Pack coach Kevin Leggett said of the questionable officiating. “That kind of puts the spirit down, but we didn’t give up tonight. I was proud of that.”

The early deficit didn’t deter anyone in the Washington dugout. After leadoff batter Matt Black struck out, Godley sparked the team’s offense with a triple to the right-field fence. He put the home side on the board by scoring on a passed ball.

Frederick Holscher drew a walk and stole second to move into scoring position, allowing Logan Little to plate him with a base hit that bounced through the left side.

Ayden-Grifton added to its marginal lead with a two-out run in the top of the second. McLawhorn’s single to right center scored Jomar Bynum from second.

The Chargers scored twice in the top of the sixth to take a four-run lead. Even considering that, Washington’s defense did its part in keeping the boys in the game. They had their leadoff batter reach in the second and seventh and had a runner in scoring position with one out in the third, but couldn’t convert on the chances.

“We didn’t really have enough (runners) tonight to make that decision,” Leggett said of missed scoring opportunities. He said after Wednesday’s win over Northside that bringing home runners was something the team had improved on.

“We’ve got to work on everything if we’re going to win the conference, if we’re going to do the right things. Everything in the game has got to get better: the mental mistakes, offense, everything.”

Wilson and the Charger defense also did a good job to stifle Washington’s offense. Wilson, who pitched a complete game, scattered five hits and conceded just those two first-inning runs. He struck out a dozen Pam Pack batters.

“They threw their No. 1 tonight,” Leggett said. “He was throwing good. That was part of the reason. The umpire was part. I’ll give it to the pitcher. He was good tonight. He’s probably the hardest-throwing pitcher we’ve faced this year.”