For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and for every Bradford rally Thursday afternoon, the Kane Wolves countered with an equal or greater run of their own to knock the Owls off, 12-10.

Kane (2-4) jumped out to a 6-2 lead through four innings and a 9-4 lead through five and a half before Bradford (3-5) put up a five-run bottom of the sixth to tie things at 9-9 going into the final inning.

As they had all game, the Wolves responded to the Bradford rally. Kane plated three in the top of the seventh and held Bradford to just one in the frame to win 12-10.

“When you get ahead and then the other team fights back like (Bradford) did, it’s easy to quit,” Kane head coach Mark Kossack said. “But we didn’t have any quit in us. Every time Bradford came back, we forged a few more after that.”

With the game tied at 1-1, the Owls ran into trouble in the second inning, as errors gave the Wolves a 4-1 lead.  Kane struck for another pair of runs in the fourth, as a single and a walk put two runners on, and then Harley Morris singled them in for the 6-1 advantage. Morris finished the game 3-5 with four RBI at the plate.

But in the bottoms of the fourth and fifth innings, Bradford had monumental chances to get back into the game and perhaps even tie or take the lead. In both innings, the Owls had bases loaded, but Kane kept Bradford mostly at bay, surrendering just one run in the fourth and two in the fifth to draw to within 6-4.

“We need to find guys who want to be the guy,” Bradford head coach Andy Carlson said of his charges’ failures to capitalize on opportunities. “That’s what we’re looking for here, the right guys. We have guys that are playing too nervous and are afraid to fail, and in this game, you can’t be afraid to fail.”

Kane picked up another run in the top of the sixth on a hit and run, and then a two-RBI single from sophomore Carson Whiteman extended the Wolves’ lead to 9-4.

But Bradford rallied for five runs to knot the game back up at 9-9 going into the game’s final inning.

The Owls loaded the bases and then picked up a two-RBI single from Caleb Nuzzo and a one-RBI single from Austen Davis to draw to within 9-7. Nuzzo finished with three RBI.

Then, just one inning after nearly tying the game with a line drive that narrowly went foul, Michael Gow made good on his next opportunity with a bases-loaded, two-RBI single to tie the game at 9-9. His pair of RBI were second-most on the team for the day.

But Kane countered with a three-run top of the seventh to regain the lead, 12-9. Bradford started to get on a run of its own and scored one run to draw to within 12-10, and then had bases loaded with two outs. But Whiteman slammed the door on the Owls and picked up a groundout to win the game.

“Carson is locked in and it seems like nothing ever bothers him, and that’s why he’s in there for us in that situation,” Kossack said.  

Carlson acknowledged that his team was simply out-played today, but did note that the Owls had their chances down the stretch.

“They played better than us, and that’s why the score ended up the way it was. They made the plays and did the little things,” Carlson said. “We were lucky to have a chance to win the game in the end, and it’s a testament that our guys did rally back. We’re just still looking for that right combination.”

Bradford visits Brookville on Tuesday for a 4:15 p.m. game, while Kane takes the road to Allegheny-Clarion Valley on Monday for their 4:15 matchup.

AT BRADFORD

                          R H E

Kane        130 203 3    12 10 2

Bradford  100 125 1        10 9 3

Austin Jordan (4 SO, 6 BB), Ty Stahli (5) (3 BB), Carson Whiteman (6) (3 SO, 3 BB) and Robert Rumcik

Tyler Gigliotti (4 SO, 4 BB), Peyton Manion (5) (2 SO, 3 BB), Michael Gow (7) (1 BB) and Caleb Nuzzo