Williamstown’s Elli Hanlon, left, snags a line drive as Marietta’s Samatha Mayo dives back to first base during Saturday’s game at Phillips Field. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

What happens when two teams who refuse to quit go up against one another?

You get a hard fought battle like the one Marietta and Williamstown played Saturday at Phillips Field.

The Tigers got down 5-0 early and rallied for a lead, but had to fend off a Yellowjackets squad that kept clawing back. In the end, Marietta prevailed 13-8.

“We’ve done that all year,” said MHS skipper Jon Pollard. “We’ve won some, we’ve lost some, but our kids have never given up. Two or three years ago, we get down four or five runs and we give up. We’ve, over the last three years, created that culture to where we don’t do that anymore. We’re going to battle. Game’s never over until it’s over.”

Williamstown (4-9) got to Tiger starting pitcher Chloe Harris early. Elli Hanlon’s sacrifice fly and Nevaeh Moore’s groundout put the ‘Jackets up 2-0 in the first. They added three more in the second, with Moore, Gracie Rush and Shayle Montgomery notching one RBI each, to make it 5-0 and chase Harris from the circle.

The ball gets past Williamstown shortstop Gracie Rush as Marietta’s Samantha Mayo successfully steals second base during Saturday’s game at Phillips Field. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Pollard brought Emmy Ward on to pitch, and the freshman right-hander was able to calm the storm.

“We have three pitchers that can start any day of the week — Emmy’s one of them,” Pollard said. “We’ve had to rely on Abby (Miller) here a few times and we wanted to give her a break. Emmy’s a little different speed, and she’s got four or five pitches she can throw. We knew she’d do alright for us.”

Marietta (5-6) went to work in the bottom of the second. Kylie Constable drew a bases-loaded walk to plate the Tigers’ first run. Samantha Mayo followed with a two-run single to cut it to 5-3. After Ward drew another free pass with the bases juiced, Sophie Morris poked a two-run single to left to give MHS a 6-5 advantage.

Williamstown, undeterred by watching its early five-run cushion disappear, tied it in the fifth on Jadyn Lee’s RBI single. Lakyn Harshbarger scored on the play after doubling earlier in the inning.

“I was most impressed by (the fact that) neither team was going to give up,” said Williamstown assistant coach Dave Everly. “You were going to have to win the game. Nobody was going to lose it.”

Williamstown’s Lakyn Harshbarger (8) gets a lead off first base as Marietta’s Kylie McElroy gets into fielding position during Saturday’s game at Phillips Field. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Marietta reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Claire Bills led off with a single and Kaylie Barth followed with a pinch-hit double, but Barth was ruled out after her substitution was not reported to the umpire. However, Bills later scored on a wild pitch to make sure the Tigers didn’t come out of the inning empty-handed, and Mayo drove in another run on an infield single to make it 8-6.

Trailing once again, Williamstown got a leadoff single from Rush in the top of the sixth. Rush came around to score on Hanlon’s double down the left field line. Moore followed with a groundball to second base that was misplayed, allowing Hanlon to touch home and tie the game at 8-all.

“We were very encouraged by the way we played today,” Everly said. “We’ve had some rough games this week. This is our sixth game in six nights. We were probably a little bit tired, but they focused, and they focused all game long. So we were very proud.”

Looking to break the tie, Marietta loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth. Barth, after being robbed of an extra-base hit earlier in the game, sought redemption. She delivered a go-ahead two base hit to center to put the Tigers on top for good. Marietta tacked on three more insurance runs and Ward pitched a scoreless seventh to secure the win.

“Kaylie Barth is a trooper,” Pollard said. “She is a senior captain. She’s one of those role players. Doesn’t see a lot of time in the field, but when she gets her chance, she usually makes things happen. I told her today, ‘just go up there and relax, see the ball, move up closer to the pitcher and drive it.’ My bad on the first one, because we didn’t report her — that was a team effort on all my coaching staff here. But, you know, she came up again in clutch situations, and it was perfect for us. Couldn’t have worked out any better.”

Ward, who escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fourth, earned the pitching win. She went 5 1/3 innings with three walks and two strikeouts.

Alyssa Clare took the loss for Williamstown. Clare went 5 1/3 innings, striking out three. Command was an issue at times as she issued seven bases on balls, but Clare pitched well enough to keep her team in the game.

“She did pretty good,” Everly said. “She was hitting her spots really well. Sometimes it gets away from her a little bit, but she can pause and get things under control again. She did good tonight. She’s got a she’s got a good year ahead of her.

“We were impressed by (Marietta’s) hitting. They hit the ball well, and we kind of knew they would. I thought we hit the ball good, too.”

Williamstown shook off some fielding woes Saturday. After committing 11 errors in a win against Tyler Consolidated two days prior, the Yellowjackets erred just twice against the Tigers.

“Very encouraging,” Everly said. “We got four in a row coming up next week, so we’re gonna have to carry it in the next week, and they understand that. They have high expectations. Our infield knows what to do, and they just got to do it and stay focused.”

Rush finished 3 for 4 with three runs scored to lead Williamstown. Harshbarger was 2 for 4 with two runs.

Mayo had three hits in four at-bats for the Tigers, while Bills and Keely Hanson had two hits each.

“Our hitting started to come — second or third inning we started hitting the ball,” Pollard said. “Our defense stiffened up a little bit. We moved runners around. It was a good game. Williamstown is a good team. Glad they came over and played.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

At Phillips Field

WP: Emmy Ward 5.1 IP, 3 BB, 2 SO

Chloe Harris (starter) 1.2 IP, 3 BB, 1 SO

LP: Alyssa Clare 5.1 IP, 7 BB, 3 SO

Alexis Stephens .2 IP, 0 BB, 0 SO

Leading hitters

Williamstown (4-9): Elli Hanlon 1-3, 2B, 2 RBIs; Lakyn Harshbarger 2-4, 2B, 2 Rs; Gracie Rush 3-4, 3 Rs, RBI

Marietta (5-6): Samantha Mayo 3-4, 2 RBIs; Harris 1-3, 2 Rs; Sophie Morris 1-3, 2 Rs, 2 RBIs; Claire Bills 2-4, 2 Rs; Kaylie Barth 1-2, 2 RBIs; Keely Hanson 2-3, 3 Rs