David Bednar continues to grow for the Mars baseball team — and that could bode well for the Planets during the second half of the season.

Bednar tossed a complete game with six strikeouts and no walks in a 5-3 Section 4-AAA victory over Knoch Friday at Pullman Park.

The win kept Mars (9-3, 6-1) in a first-place tie with Hampton, while Knoch dropped to 7-5, 5-2.

“David's got a lot of maturity,” Mars coach Brian Hobaugh said. “Whenever he gets runners on base, he guts it out.

“We did not get a lot of hits, but in the sixth and seventh innings, he closed the door. It's what we expect,” Hobaugh added.

The Planets used a four-run third inning to break a 1-all tie against Knoch starter Justin Grossman.

Alex Smith was hit by a pitch, then after stealing second, Matt Eperesi drew a walk.

C.J. Weigand lined an RBI single, then with two outs, Bednar reached on an error which plated another run. Josh Bartley followed with a two-run double to make it a 5-1 contest.

“The third inning killed us,” Knoch coach George Bradley said. “We should've caught a couple of balls ... We gave up runs and we were not able to come right back.

“But, we did not hang our heads. That was a heavyweight battle. People who say young kids have no guts and are lazy should've been here. These were two teams that did not want to be defeated,” Bradley added.

The Knights did put runners on the corners with one out after one-out singles by Grossman and Josh Sheppeck, but Bednar struck out Mac Megahan and Zach Koller to end the threat.

Knoch, however, countered with two runs in the fourth inning when, with one out, Taylor Sharer reached on a dropped third strike and Ty Smith singled and an error advanced the runners into scoring position.

Both runners would come around to score on a pair of errors on a grounder by Gavin Miller.

“Knoch did a great job. They were tough,” Hobaugh said. “They had a lot of hits with two outs. They made (Bednar) work. They got a lot of two-strike hits in key situations.”

Bednar would retire the Knights in order in the fifth and sixth innings before Chase Voltz singled and moved to second when the ball kicked away from left-fielder Dylan Stewart.

Bednar, though, would get Grossman to ground into a fielder's choice which advanced the runner to third base before striking out Sheppeck to end the game.

“It's almost like I won, but that's coaching,” Bradley said. “If I see growth and the kids do what you expect, you're pleased.

“I knew we'd face Dave and I told my boys we want to compete and see how good we can get.”

Notes: Weigand had a two-out RBI double in the first inning, then Koller had a two-out RBI single following a triple by Megahan in the home half of the frame ... Grossman would fan six batters and walk two in 5-plus innings while Megahan had three strikeouts and one walk the final two innings.

Mars 104 000 0 — 5 6 5Knoch 100 200 0 — 3 6 2W: David Bednar 7 IP (6K, 0BB).

L: Justin Grossman 5+IP (6K, 2BB).

Mars (9-3, 6-1): C.J. Weigand 1B, 2B, 2 RBI; Josh Bartley 1B, 2-2B, 2 RBI; Matt Eperesi 1Bx

Knoch (7-5, 5-2): Justin Grossman 1B; Josh Sheppeck 1B; Mac Megahan 3B; Zach Koller 1B, RBI; Chase Voltz 1B; Ty Smith 1B

Monday: Hampton at Mars; Knoch at Indiana