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The Cros-Lex Pioneers mixed in all of those aspects at different times this season to come up with a share of the BWAC title, tying for first, at 11-3, with pre-season favorite Richmond.

Cros-Lex, now 15-5 overall, closed it out on Thursday in dramatic fashion by rallying past Algonac for a 5-4 win in eight innings.

Trailing 4-1, the Pioneers pushed across three runs in the fifth to tie it and then pulled it out with a run in the eighth and the shutout pitching of Garrett Grundman in the last four innings.

"I'm real happy with (a share)," beamed Rick Patterson, Cros-Lex coach. "We'd rather have it outright, but Richmond has really come on. They struggled a little early, and we've kinda struggled lately.

"But, every win was tough. We'd dig and scratch for everything. Somehow we'd come up with the right hit. That's the way it's been all season."

In the fifth inning, one Pioneer runner reached base on an error and eventually came home on a base hit by Cameron Barrett. After Barrett was erased on the bath paths, Justin Walls and Grundman each singled. Then, with two outs, Nick Jex hit a fly ball into a strong wind and the Algonac outfielder tried to make a running snag, but dropped it, allowing C-L to score the tying runs.

Adam Palleschi, a junior outfielder, made Patterson's intuition come true. Palleschi, who started in left in place of Jerry Torrez, led off the eighth with his third single of the day. A sacrifice bunt by Adam Cornwell and a sacrifice fly by Barrett put Palleschi at third. A moment later, Palleschi raced home for the eventual winning run on a wild pitch.

"Adam had a good practice the day before," explained Patterson, and I just had a feeling to start him."

Grundman, the Pioneers main arm on the mound for much of the BWAC season, had struggled with his command earlier in the game, but perked up, according to Patterson, after his team rallied in the fifth. The Pioneer senior pitched four scoreless, hitless innings to shutdown the Muskrats.

"He got a little spark there. He started hitting the corners and throwing the ball harder," said Paterson.

Grundman, along with Palleschi, had three of C-L's 13 hits. Walls and Jex each added two.

Cros-Lex is set to play Marysville in the second semifinal game in this Saturday's Division 2 District tournament at Marysville. The winner advances to the championship game at 3 p.m.