Photo by Kim North St. Clairsville catcher Landon Stack awaits the ball as Indian Creek’s Adam Brothers (11) slides into home plate during the fourth inning Wednesday at Memorial Park in St. Clairsville. Brothers was out on the play, but the Redskins won, 8-3.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – A pair of perennial Ohio Eastern District baseball powers collided Wednesday, with each riding a lengthy losing skid as the regular season winds down.

Indian Creek halted its 5-game slide while extending St. Clairsville’s slump to four straight with an 8-3 verdict on the Memorial Park diamond, spoiling Senior Night for five Red Devils.

“We really needed this win. We really did,” Indian Creek (18-7) head coach Mike Cottis said. “These games don’t matter, but they do. We’re playing to get our confidence back up.

“We’ve been on a skid, but the back end of our schedule has been brutal,” Cottis admitted. “We’ve played some teams that are going to make deep runs in the playoffs, so we’ve taken our lumps, but seeing that good pitching will only help us when the postseason rolls around.”

The Redskins scored single runs in each of the first three innings and added two more in the fourth in building a 5-0 advantage.

Max Lane made it 1-0 with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and Adam Brothers’ RBI single to left bumped the count to 2-0 in the second. Luke McVicker’s single in the third drove in the third run. Gavin Pownall and Sylus Hyde each singled in a run in the fourth for a 5-0 reading.

Just when it appeared Indian Creek was going to pull away for its second win over St. Clairsville in nine days, the Red Devils battled back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Niko Jacob scored on a fielder’s choice and Matheson King sprinted home on a wild pitch.

Indian Creek won 2-0 on May 4 at the John Muth Recreational Complex in Mingo Junction.

However, as quick as the hosts cut into the lead, the Redskins got those runs back in the sixth when Hunter Rusnak belted a two-run homer over the short porch in left. It was his third base hit of the game and came two pitches after he sent a towering drive just foul.

“That’s not bad,” Cottis said of Rusnak’s performance at the plate. “He’s a pretty good hitter. He’s usually our catcher, but he’s dealing with a thumb injury. We’ve got to keep his bat in the lineup so we moved him to right field tonight.”

The eight runs were more than enough support for Parker Heath. The sophomore righty went the distance, striking out just one and issuing a quartet of free passes. He gave up four hits. After St. Clairsville made it 8-3 in the bottom of the sixth on a King groundout, Heath retired the final six batters he faced.

“Parker has thrown good for us all year. He and Sylus are our top two dogs,” Cottis said. “We’ll need them in the playoffs.”

In addition to Rusnak’s three safeties, James Brothers had a single and double, while Pownall and Adam Brothers had two singles each. Hyde added a double and Ian Starkey tripled.

Losing pitcher Niko Jacob had half of the Red Devils four hits as the West Liberty recruit singled and doubled.

“We’re struggling at the plate a little bit … really in all facets of the game,” veteran St. Clairsville head coach Tom Sliva said. “We’re hoping to put something together. We know the sectional tournament is ahead of us next Tuesday. We’re just striving to get better each and every day.”

Five Red Devil seniors were honored in pre-game ceremonies. They included Jacob, Florence, Rowan Mellott, Levi Shunk and Brennan Rice.

Both teams are back in action on Thursday as Indian Creek hosts Martins Ferry and St. Clairsville entertains Wheeling Central. Both games have a 5 p.m. first pitch.