With six different players accounting for an RBI, Albemarle baseball was able to get a clutch piece of hitting from its eighth spot in the order to beat Massaponax 7-6 and start its season off with a win.
Alex Petroka came to the plate in the bottom of the sixth with his team tied and two outs. Petroka delivered an RBI single and pitcher Jake Browning was able to shut things down in the top of the seventh to wrap up the victory.
Albemarle got off to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings with Scott Reid drawing a bases loaded walk, Connor Moriarty and Jack Bruns hitting RBI singles and Ryan Porter and Bruns both scoring on a passed ball.
Massaponax answered back with a 4-run third inning with a pair of RBI singles, a sacrifice fly and a passed ball to make it a 1-run game.
Albemarle responded with an RBI single from Ryan Porter in the bottom of the third but Massaponax picked up an RBI double in the top of the fifth and another run on an error to even things up at 6 before Petroka came up with his late game heroics.
Reid threw four and a third innings in the no decision and surrendered three earned runs. Browning got the win with two and two thirds innings where he had picked up three strikeouts.
Ryan Porter was 2-for-3 with an RBI while Moriaty went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Albemarle will host Harrisonburg on Friday.
