NAPPANEE – Plymouth’s Pilgrims continue their roller coaster ride through the NLC taking a huge win on the road at NorthWood by a 5-3 final.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever beaten NorthWood (13-5, 8-4) here (at Nappanee) since I’ve been coaching,” said Plymouth head coach Ryan Wolfe. “They always put such a good product on the field. We felt good. We had Braydon on the mound and then just to come through like that. We were playing for one run all night long because I knew it’d be a close game.”

It was that.

The game was tied at 1 – in fact – until the Pilgrims (15-7, 8-4) were able to push across four in the sixth inning and get a cushion that would be the difference in the game. Jeremy Drudge led off the inning with an opposite field single – part of a two hit game – and move to second with a perfect sac bunt from George Stults.

“It was huge to get four in the sixth like that,” said Wolfe. “For George (Stults) to get that bunt down and Dyllon (Pavey) to get that big hit and Benji (Nixon) being in the right place at the right time to get that double with a full count to give us a cushion, it gave us the ability to pitch to some guys (in the NorthWood batting order) and not be too timid to close it out.”

It was the double by Pavey that drove home Drudge with the Pilgrims second run and give them the lead they would never relinquish.

“That’s what we’ve told him (Pavey) all year – hit the ball over the second baseman’s head,” said Wolfe. “That’s his swing, when he tries to roll over things he grounds out to the shortstop. He needs to work the right center field gap with that swing and that’s what he did and he generated the spark with that double.”

The bunt from Stults was no less crucial. Earlier in the game the Panthers had a similar opportunity and their bunt attempt turned into a double play.

“You never know when you’ll be called to bunt,” said Wolfe. “George tells me he’s the best bunter in the NLC and, well, tonight he is. It’s about executing and he did a great job.”

NorthWood was far from rolling over after the Plymouth sixth. The Panther responded with two of their own on four hits off Davidson. The Plymouth senior right hander stiffened and got a big pop out from Brock Beehler and another from the dangerous Tanner Cleveland to end the inning.

“It’s just the resilience of our guys and the resilience of Braydon out there on the mound,” said Wolfe. “He went out there in the seventh and went right at them after that sixth. Any of those guys are dangerous but especially the lefty (Vince Hershberger) He hit two doubles off the wall against us at home and we weren’t going to let him beat us. Braydon went after him with change ups and off speed and got him to pop up and it was huge.”

The win puts Plymouth in another big game Wednesday at Bill Nixon Field as Northridge come to town. The Raiders survived a challenge from Elkhart Memorial to set up a battle that will see the winner claim at least a share of the conference title.

“We really do control our own destiny,” said Wolfe. “I don’t care what anybody else does that’s our approach we’re playing to win. That’s what we’re going to do Wednesday against Northridge and I know the kids will be ready to go.”

Linescore

Plymouth 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 5-8-2

NorthWood 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3-10-1

WP – Davidson (6-2). LP – Minnich. 2B – Sellers (NW), Minnich (NW), Gongwer (NW), Pavey (P), Nixon (P).