Spencer Cardinals clinch league championship with 7-6 nailbiter

Seven runs on 10 hits versus six runs on nine hits. A would-be go-ahead home run is hauled in at the warning track. The Fairmont Martins made the Spencer Cardinals earn the First Night League championship on Sunday.

In a tightly contested game in which no team held a lead greater than two runs, Fairmont struck first with two runs on three hits in the second inning.

In the fourth, Spencer's Jeremy Payne scored on a Wade Davis single to make it a 2-1 ballgame. After the Martins pushed their lead to 3-1 in the top of the fifth, the Cardinals responded with a two-out, two-run triple by Nick Redding to tie the game. Fairmont provided some timely hitting of its own with consecutive two-out hits in the sixth to grab a 5-3 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Spencer scored four runs to take its first lead. After Mitch Feller and Mitch Fandel opened up the inning with a walk and a single, respectively, Jeff Steen drove in Feller with a single. The Cardinals tied up the game after a Fairmont error allowed Will Glienke to reach base and Fandel to score. Payne closed Spencer's scoring with a two-run double.

It looked as though the Martins had one last rally in them in the top of the ninth when a single followed by a triple brought the tying run to third with one out. After retiring the next Fairmont batter, relief pitcher Andrew Engesser earned the save as a long drive to right field stayed just inside the ballpark.

Drew Nonamacker earned the win for the Cardinals, pitching 8 1/3, allowing nine hits to go with seven strikeouts and four walks.

"Drew threw an excellent game. He really worked ahead in the count and got a lot of ground balls," said Cardinals manager Jeff Mahrt.

Jeremy Payne went 2-3 with two doubles and two RBI. Nick Redding finished 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI. Jeff Steen and Mike Koenecke each chipped in two singles for the Cardinals.

Spencer wraps up its First Night League season with a 12-3 record.