SIDNEY — Jackson Center and Fairlawn played two close games in regular season and did the same in a Division IV sectional baseball tournament opener on Monday.
After the Tigers scored one run in the top of the ninth, Fairlawn scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning to earn a 7-6 victory in extra innings.
The Jets, which are the No. 7 seed in the Sidney D-IV sectional, advance to play at No. 2 Mechanicsburg on Wednesday.
Carson Regula put Jackson Center ahead 6-5 in the top of the ninth by stealing home plate but Fairlawn (11-13) rallied in the bottom half.
Drew Maddy drew a walk with one out, then Ashton Piper hit an RBI triple to center field to tie it 6-6. Ethan Westerbeck then hit a single to second base and Keith Orndorff followed with an RBI single to left to score Piper and give the Jets the win.
Fairlawn took a 4-1 lead after the first inning and boosted it to 5-2 after the third. Jackson Center scored two runs in the fourth to pull within one run and tied it by scoring one run in the sixth.
The Jets had 10 hits and three errors while Jackson Center had nine hits and three errors.
Doug Wright earned the win on the mound. He pitched five innings and allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out four batters.
Orndorff was 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs, two walks and one double for Fairlawn. Westerbeck was 2 for 4 with one run and Piper was 2 for 5 with two runs. Kyle Peters was 2 for 3 and Jordan Lessing hit a double.
Carson Regula was charged with the loss for the Tigers. He pitched four innings and allowed four earned runs on five hits and five walks. He had five strikeouts.
Aidan Reichert was 3 for 4 with 1 RBI and one walk for Jackson Center while Ethan Pohlschneider was 2 for 5 with 1 RBI and two runs. Blaine Jackson hit a double and Jacob Francis hit a home run.
The Tigers beat Fairlawn 3-2 in SCAL play on April 15 but the Jets won the team’s second league matchup with a 1-0 victory last Thursday.
Jackson Center, which was the No. 9 seed, finishes 7-13-1 overall. The Tigers were 4-8 in SCAL play and finished fifth overall, ahead of Fairlawn and Botkins, which tied for sixth with 3-9 records.
All other scheduled tournament or regular-season baseball and softball games were postponed to due wet fields from the rain that soaked the region over the weekend.
Postponed/canceled baseball games: Botkins at Ansonia, Riverside at Houston, Lima Shawnee at Anna, New Bremen at Versailles, Minster at McComb.
Postponed/canceled softball games: Fort Loramie at Botkins, Versailles vs. Benjamin-Logan at Brookville, Franklin-Monroe at New Bremen, Minster at McComb.
