The Kings got out to an early 3-0 lead but the Pistons had something to say about who would win Thursday’s 8U National league game at Youth Sports Inc.

In the deciding seventh inning the Kings added some drama, but the Pistons answered back and recorded the 5-4 victory.

Going into the game the Kings were on a roll, winning their last two. Kings head coach Colin Lovelace said the team was hoping for their match-up with the Pistons to become a third win for the team.

“It was a hard game,” Lovelace said. “We wanted to win going into this, but we played tough. The kids moved up to a more competitive league this year, so we want to be more competitive.”

The Kings started out competitive scoring three of their four runs in the first inning, but then fizzled at the plate in the second through fifth innings. In the fourth the team didn’t muster a hit, going down one, two, three in the inning.

“The bats have a way of going silent at the wrong times sometimes,” Lovelace said.

The Pistons took advantage of the Kings’ silent bats and swung away in the third and fourth innings. The Pistons hit a double and then a single to drive in a run in the third. The team batted in another run before the fourth inning was out.

The Pistons brought their firepower along with them into the sixth inning when the team smacked a double that would eventually score a run on an ensuing hit and send a second across home plate to take the one-run lead.

The Pistons’ leap into the lead seemed to ignite the Kings much needed firepower and their offensive prowess they showed in the first returned after a five-inning slump.

The Kings watch their teammate at bat Thursday at Youth Sports inc. as they wait in the dugout for their turn at the plate.

King Colton Lovelace said one of his biggest goals this season is to be a good teammate and he tried to do just that on Thursday night when he nearly hit a home run to give his team the advantage but was stopped short in the dust by the Piston’s catcher.

Lovelace’s near hit rallied the Kings, who scored a run in the seventh inning to tie them at four-all with the Pistons.

The tie left the game’s outcome hinged on the Pistons’ performance at the bottom of the seventh. The Pistons responded driving in the game winning run.

Lovelace’s near home run seemed to give his teammates the focus they needed to realize one hit could give them a chance to win the game. Lovelace said he was just intensely focused on slugging one home for the team.

Had he made it safely across home plate, Lovelace would have scored the run that would have given the Kings a one-run lead heading into the final inning, but instead it was the Pistons who edged out the 5-4 victory

After the game Colton Lovelace said that even though his team didn’t take home the victory, the game gave them an experience much more valuable: the ability to play with friends at the ballpark.

Lovelace said one of the best experiences about playing in the DCABA league during the summer is getting to make a lot of friends while playing baseball.