Pitching made the difference in the Jhawk Baseball contest between the Red Sox and the Phillies Thursday at Holcom.

The fifth- and sixth-graders squared off on in a contest that came down to the final inning, with the Red Sox ending up with a 7-6 win.

Red Sox' Robert Girard peers out of the dugout during Thursday's game against the Phillies.

“The boys were excited for the competition to be so close,” Phillies head coach Debbie Girard said.

Elijah Penny was on the mound for the Phillies to start the game. He came out throwing heat, striking out the first two Red Sox batters. After giving up a walk and an RBI, Penny struck out Tyson Erwin to end the inning.

The Red Sox took the field and put Matt Schrock on the mound. Penny had a solid hit to left. Sox catcher Chance Barritt tried to pick Penny off at second, but Barritt overthrew the base and the Phillies got on the scoreboard first. After a great fielding throw to first base for the first out of the inning, Schrock walked two batters before striking out Chris Almon to end the inning.

In the second inning, Kal Farley got the bats going for the Red Sox with a double to right field. Dakota Anderson followed that up with an RBI, then stole two bases and came home on a single from the next batter. Robert Girard added some drama with a run-down between second and third base. It looked as if Girard would be tagged out, but he reached third safely. Before a pop-out ended the inning, the Sox had taken a 4-1 lead.

It was the Phillies’ turn to even the score in the bottom half of the inning, and that is just what they did, taking a two-run lead on the bats of Nate Fiester, Doug Heafey and Penny. Trever Fanshier had the biggest hit in the third when he drove home three runners on a triple to right-center field, ending the inning on the five-run-per-inning rule, leading 6-4.

The Phillies made a pitching change to start the third, bringing Fanshier to the mound. Fanshier gave up a triple to Damien Coffey and then hit Alec Petry with a pitch. After shaking off the errant throw he struck out the next two batters but a fastball down the middle drove in two runs for the Red Sox. The inning ended on a strikeout, but not before the Sox took a 7-6 lead.

In order to keep the lead the Red Sox brought in their best pitcher, Coffey, to close out the game. Coffey struck out Caleb Bond to begin the bottom of the inning and then allowed a single before striking out Michael Guerich and Gabe McCab to end the third.

Tension mounted as the last inning began with Red Sox leading by one run. The Phillies needed solid pitching from Fanshier and the infield to keep the game close, and that is exactly what they got. Fanshier struck out the first two batters, and then Penny made a great throw to first to end the inning and give the Phillies one last chance to take the victory.

Coffey struck out the Phillies in order, though, earning the save.

“My arm felt good tonight,” Coffey said. “It was exciting to pitch so well tonight.”

Coach Girard said she knew Coffey could come into the game and get the job done in the close situation.

Phillies head coach Randy Johnson said his team just fell apart at the end of the game.

“I was quite pleased with the way we played,” Johnson said. “It was not a bad game.”

Coach Johnson said his team needed to work on sliding and getting baserunners in a rundown in practice.

Coach Girard said her players needed to carry the confidence and momentum into their next game to keep producing good results. She said she was happy to see the boys demonstrating good sportsmanship, win or loss.

The Red Sox attempt to continue their success on the diamond alive Thursday night at Holcom.