Any lead was tenuous, and Highlands coach Ray Olszewski and Knoch coach Curt Schnur knew it.

Even when the Knights erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 12-7 lead, the Rams brought the tying run to the plate in the sixth inning.

But Knoch reliever Cullen Hinderliter struck out the final five batters he faced to preserve a 12-9 win in Section 1-AAA baseball at Pullman Park.

"I kind of told the guys at the end that there's never a point for me (that it's over) and I didn't feel it from the kids," said Schnur. "There was not a point we had it in the bag."

"It's pretty competitive in our league," said Olszewski. "It's who makes the plays and that's what it came down to."

After Highlands had broken a 5-all tie in the top of the fifth inning with an RBI sacrifice fly by Shane Marchek and a run-scoring single by Jake Tutak, the Knights took the lead.

With one out, Hinderliter was hit by a pitch and Robert Zanella walked. Nathan Junk smacked a two-run single that ricocheted off the foot of Rams pitcher Ryan Luzik into right field to knot the game at 7-all.

Knoch's John DeWalt followed with an RBI single, Zane Voltz singled, then Marcus Cashell belted a two-run triple for a 10-7 lead.

After Mac Megahan struck out, Andrew Wirtz and Dale Gallo had consecutive two-out RBI singles to open a five-run lead.

"Since our first game against Hampton, we've been hitting the ball," Schnur said. "And this is the first time getting clutch hits at the bottom of the order. Marcus Cashell had a couple of big hits."

"Our starting pitcher (Luzik) threw 25 more (pitches) than he had to," said Olszewski. "That last inning, he just ran out of gas."

Not to be deterred, Highlands tried to claw back into the game, getting back-to-back one-out hits from Troy Nemeth and Drew Heinle. Luzik followed with a two-run triple.

Enter Hinderliter, who walked Zac Scott. Luzik and Scott pulled off a double steal to put two runners in scoring position, but Hinderliter fanned Tyler Negley and Nathan Virag to end the inning.

Hinderliter struck out the side in the seventh inning to end the game.

Knoch had jumped out to a 2-0 lead on an RBI pop-up by Hinderliter in the first inning and an RBI single by Voltz in the second inning before the Rams plated three runs in the third.

An RBI walk to Heinle, a sacrifice fly RBI by Luzik and an RBI single by Scott off Junk gave Highlands the lead.

Knoch tied it in its half of the inning on a fielder's choice grounder by Zanella after Hinderliter had tripled with one out.

Highlands retook the lead when, with two outs, a fly ball was misplayed in right field, which allowed two runs to score. Knoch promptly tied the game at 5 on a two-run homer by Megahan.

With the win, the Knights improved their standing in the section, but Schnur knows his team has a long way to go.

"If our defense comes together and thinks about what we need to do with the ball, we'll be all right," Schnur said

Highlands 003 222 0 — 9 10 3Knoch 111 270 x — 12 12 2W: Nathan Junk 5Z\c IP (6 K, 3 BB).

L: Ryan Luzik 42/3 IP (3 K, 2 BB).

Highlands (4-5, 0-4): Troy Nemeth 2-1B; Drew Heinle 1B, RBI; Ryan Luzik 2-3B, 3 RBI; Zac Scott 1B, RBI; Shane Marchek 1NB, RBI; Jake Tutak 2-1B, RBI; Nathan Torgent 1B

Knoch (6-4, 3-1): Mac Megahan HR, 2 RBI; Andrew Wirtz 1B, RBI; Dale Gallo 1B, RBI; Cullen Hinderliter 1B, 3B, RBI; Robert Zanella RBI; Nathan Junk 2-1B, 2 RBI; John DeWalt 1B, RBI; Zane Voltz 2-1B, RBI; Marcus Cashell 1B, 3B, 2 RBI

Today: Knoch at Blackhawk