HUBBARD — Hubbard hosted Poland in a Northeast-8 Conference battle on Monday, and the Eagles came out on top with a 6-5 victory.

“The girls worked hard today,” Hubbard coach Annie Zagorec said. “They wanted it bad, and they earned it. Every year, it kind of goes back and forth between which team is going to get the win. I’m very happy to say that we got the first one against them this season.

“I hope it keeps going up from here. Our bats are starting to heat up. We’re making contact. We’re playing well. They just have to keep working hard.”

The Eagles jumped on top 2-0 in the bottom of the second, and they were ahead 3-1 before Poland tied up 3-3 in the top of the fourth.

However, the Eagles (9-8, 3-4) scored two more runs in the bottom half of the fourth to take a 5-3 advantage.

Phoebe Rusnak is the only senior on Hubbard’s roster. She got the win in the circle and went 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored.

“I try to think of myself as a leader,” Rusnak said. “I try to lead by example for the other girls. It was back and forth today. Both teams were playing well. Luckily, Kaylee Schultz came in to relieve me. I ran out of gas. I had thrown too many pitches. We got some big hits at big moments.”

There wasn’t a bigger hit than the home run from junior Lauren Komorek.

“I think this was the best game that we’ve played so far this year,” she said. “Everyone was hitting. Everyone got on base and did their job in the field. Hopefully, we keep playing like this. I’m just proud of the team.”

The Bulldogs (10-10, 6-4) scored again in the top of the fifth. Poland outhit the Eagles 12-10, and senior Mary Brant went 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI.

“Mary Brant is going to Robert Morris in the fall,” Poland coach Jim Serich said. “She’s a special player at shortstop. Our other senior, Leanne Williams, has been an anchor for us for four years at first base. They’re both playing really well right now.

“Hubbard played well today. We didn’t help ourselves along the way. You can’t give them 6-out innings. They scored 2 unearned runs. It’s the little things that you just can’t do. We outhit them, but we didn’t outscore them.”

Sophomore Haleigh Taylor went 3-for-4 for the Eagles and drove in an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with a hot shot down the third-base line.

Hubbard needed every bit of insurance the offense had to offer because the Bulldogs kept battling in the top of the seventh. Olivia Horn went the opposite way for a single and an RBI.

Then, Lilian McDonald crushed one to centerfield, but Jillian Palumbo got under it and made the catch as Schultz got the save.

“We played well as a team,” Schultz said. “This was a good conference game. We were hitting, pitching and playing good defense. I was confident that we would get through that seventh inning. We’re not a team that falls apart very often.”

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