Kingsford second baseman Garrett Brown (1) comes to the assistance of teammate and Flivvers right fielder Andres Finley (12), as Finley crashes to the ground in the outfield at LiUNA Field in Iron Mountain after being unable to come up with a fly ball in the sometimes rainy conditions during the varsity baseball clash with host Iron Mountain on Thursday afternoon. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The battle between the Kingsford Flivvers and Iron Mountain Mountaineers varsity baseball teams on Thursday at LiUNA Field had a bit of something for everyone.

There was lots of offense. There was action on the base paths in nearly every inning in the 2 hour, 15-minute contest. There was a deep homer, some superlative defense and a dogged effort on the mound.

After all that, the Flivvers were left standing, scoring five runs in the top of the seventh inning to overtake the Mountaineers 12-8.

The win pushed Kingsford’s record to 11-5. Iron Mountain fell to 9-4 with the setback.

Kingsford senior Sawyer Pugh drove in the tying run in the decisive seventh inning by coaxing a bases-loaded walk Henry McRoberts then delivered a two-run single to centerfield to put the Flivvers on top. Riley Juneau added an RBI later in the inning.

Iron Mountain pitcher Carson McLean (2) powers up before tossing a pitch again visiting Kingsford during the varsity contest featuring the two local rivals. The Flivvers got the better of the host Mountaineers by rallying late for 12-8 road win. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

Pugh put in a bulldog-like performance on the mound, battling through several jams. And when it was time to nail the door shut, the right-hander held a talented Mountaineer lineup scoreless over the final two innings to earn his third career win over rival Iron Mountain.

Kingsford coach Matt LaLonde said given Pugh’s track record, there was not likely to be a pitching change from his side.

On the other side of the diamond, Iron Mountain coach Paul Julian set out to hold his pitchers to a 50-pitch count prior to the West Pac Conference tournament, which is set for today.

Carson McLean started and turned the ball over to Zeke Runsat in the top of the third. The junior lefty then gave way to Evan Haferkorn, who was relieved for the final two outs by Ian Marttila.

Iron Mountain shortstop Beau Kralovec blasted a 3-run homer in the bottom of the first after the Flivvers plated one in the top of the first.

Kingsford answered back with two in the top of the second and one in the third to regain the lead. However, the Mountaineers scored two in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by Tony Kralovec and an RBI single by Marttila.

But this was never going to be a game in which either team’s offense went dry for long stretches. Down 5-4 heading into the fourth, Kingsford notched three runs to go back up 7-5. Andres Finley and Pugh each recorded run-scoring singles and another run scored on a wild pitch.

The Mountaineers regained the lead in the fifth. McLean led off with an infield single before Haferkorn belted a double to the base of the fence in left to score McClean. Marttila nailed the first pitch for a single to center which brought around Haferkorn.

Then with two outs and the score tied at 7-all, Runsat delivered an RBI single to center to put the Mountaineers back on top.

The game stayed that way until the top of the seventh. Garrett Brown led off for Kingsford and sent a line drive toward right that looked destined to be a leadoff single. But Iron Mountain senior second baseman Hunter Fortner dove to his left and came up with a sensational catch to keep the speedy Brown off the basepaths.

However, the Flivvers were not to be denied. Dennis Neuens, who had three singles in the game, drew a walk. Kingsford patiently worked the count and ended up drawing four walks, three of which scored.

Pugh worked a perfect seventh to preserve the victory for the visitors.

Jerry DeRoche can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 247, or at jderoche@ironmountaindailynews.com.