A Hornets assistant coach stands at first base to give Garrett Wildeman instructions. Wildeman scored a run after his base hit to help the Hornets to a 15-11 victory Saturday.

The Pistons lost again on Saturday. Nope, not to the Miami Heat in game seven of the NBA Eastern conference finals, rather a youth baseball game as the U8 DCABA Hornets stung the pistons 15-11 Saturday at Youth Sports Inc.

In this back and forth game, each inning was filled with plenty of hits, stolen bases and strikeouts.

While the Hornets started the scoring with three runs in the first inning, the Pistons answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning.

Both teams settled down a bit in the second frame and each squad’s defense stepped up.

All three Hornets retired in order as they second-guessed themselves whether the ball was fair or foul. On all three occasions the ball rolled fair and it was too late for the batters to out run the ball to first base.

Hornets head coach Brian Wise reminded his players to always run out the play.

Pistons batter Sammy Hogsett makes it safely to first base after an error by Hornet Trevor Munsch. Joseph Davidson and Jaxson Freeman came over to help, but Hogsett scored a run soon after the Hornet miscue.

“I’ve told you all year, you hit the ball, you run,” he said, as the Hornets filed out of the dugout.

The Pistons followed suit by failing to score any runs in the second inning either, although the team did get one runner on base.

Solid defense from both squads was also a key factor in the third inning. Garrett Wildeman did cross the plate for the Hornets, who increased their lead to 4-2 after three innings.

The Pistons took the lead for the first time in the fourth, with the help of a Hornet error. Sammy Hogsett hit the ball to Hornets pitcher Jaxson Freeman, who then threw it to first baseman Trevor Munsch. But Munsch missed the ball, allowing Hogsett to tag first base while Luke Padia scored.

Now trailing 5-4, the Hornets knew they had to string some runs together and thus their dugout erupted with a “R-A-L-L-Y” chant.

That’s just what the Hornets did as the first four batters scored to start the fifth inning.

Piston Luke Padia steps up to bat in the second inning Saturday. Padia batted in two runs for the Pistons in their match-up against the Hornets.

The Pistons battled back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning – including an inside-the-park home run by Braxton Olson, which cut their deficit to 8-7.

With the score deadlocked at the start of the seventh, Wise tried to motivate his team with a simple message: “This is our last at bat, we are tied. If we don’t score and they do, we lose. We must hit well. Remember, the ball is attracted to the bat.”

The advice must have worked because the Hornets batted through the entire line-up.

Both Brandon Bledsoe and Steven Johnson hit in-the-park homers as the Hornets tallied seven runs to take a commanding lead.

Pistons coach Tim Emerson said his team never gave up and always thought they could win despite the large, last-inning deficit.

The Pistons did add three runs to their side of the scoreboard, but the Hornets offensive outburst proved too be too much to overcome.