There are many reasons why baseball is a great sport and Tuesday proved why as a pair of local teams had exciting games that took place and both contests came down to the wire.

In the afternoon, Franklinton played Walker. Demons pitcher Mack McElveen and Walker pitcher Kyle Guidry matched up in a pitcher’s duel.

Franklinton scored a pair of runs in the second innings, which proved to be the only runs of the game. After that Guidry did not allow another base runner.

McElveen faced a tough situation in the fourth inning, as Walker had runners at second-and-third and one out with his team ahead, 2-0. McElveen struck out the next two hitters and, like Guidry, did not allow another base runner for the rest of the game.

Both teams’ defenses played flawless baseball. There were some great defensive plays and the teams also made the routine plays, but it was the type of game where every pitch mattered.

Tuesday night, Pine trailed twice against Pope John Paul II, but came back both times. The game was decided in the seventh when Jamie Adcox displayed a great piece of hitting.

With Pine down, 4-3, and a Dillon Morris at first, Adox went the opposite way, putting a pitch over the right fielder’s head. Morris made a great effort to score the tying run, as he beat the throw. Then with the infield in, Adcox showed some solid base running skills. On a grounder to second, Adcox was looked back to third, but took off on the throw to first. Connor Holmes was out at first, but Adcox beat the throw home to score on the RBI groundout to give Pine a 5-4 lead.

PJP put the tying and winning run in scoring position with one out, but Morris struck out the next two hitters to end the game.

It was two exciting ballgames and a great job by Franklinton and Pine on their wins.