Staff photo / Dan Hiner. Chaney pitcher Jason Wilson delivers during the first inning of Thursday's game against Niles at Bob Cene Park in Struthers.

STRUTHERS — Brixton Gilmour made a difference almost every time he stepped into the box.

The Niles junior played a part in eight of the team’s runs as the Red Dragons beat Chaney 11-5 on Thursday at Cene Park in Struthers.

Gilmour recorded three hits, scored twice, had three RBIs and drove in three unearned runs in the seventh.

“We’ve been struggling lately with the bat,” Gilmour said. “I’m just glad we got some runs, and I’m just glad I was able to contribute to the team.”

Niles got on the board when Gilmour hit an RBI single to left. Brian Parsons followed with a hit of his own, and both scored when a single by Andrew Strader took a tall hop over the head of Isaac Moon at shortstop.

Chaney led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles. Bobby Johnson beat out a potential double play to second base, allowing Dashawn Langston — who finished 3-for-4 on the day — to score. An RBI single down the left-field line from Denyel Pagan drove in Johnson, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

A two-out walk by Nommary and a double to the right-center gap from Langston put the tying and go-ahead runs on base for the Cowboys (2-6) in the second. But Niles pitcher Connor Duncan got a groundball to short to end the threat.

Gilmour led off the third with a double over Langston’s head at third. One batter later, Brady Court drove him in with an RBI single to center, pushing the lead to 4-2.

Johnson and Wilson drew walks to start the home half of the third. Wilson advanced to third on a throwing error on a lineout to left field, and Wilson stole second. Young drove in Johnson with an RBI groundout to second to make it a one-run game.

Niles got that run back, however, extending its lead to 6-3 in the fourth. Gilmour came through again for the Red Dragons (5-9) with a two-run bloop single — his third hit of the game — to right field with two outs.

Nommary and a single from Davis set up an RBI single to center by Johnson as the Cowboys shrunk the lead to 6-4 in the fourth.

Court walked to start the fifth and Strader followed with a free pass. Court scored on a fielding error, and Strader came home on a fielder’s choice for an 8-4 Niles lead.

Gilmour came up with the bases loaded and two outs, but a fielding error in left field brought all three unearned runs home and increased the Red Dragons’ lead to 11-4.

Pagan closed the scoring for the Cowboys. He reached and eventually scored on a throwing error while trying to steal third base in the seventh.

After a little rocky start, Duncan settled in on the mound. He gave up four runs on seven hits and five walks, but he kept the Cowboys off the board for the final two frames of the six-inning outing. Duncan punched out three before Brighton Gilmour came in to pitch the seventh inning.

“(Duncan) he comes out and he just throws,” Niles head coach Joe Toth said. “He’s, for the most part, throwing strikes. That’s all we can ask for. He’s taken the role of a pitcher-only. He’s just run with it this year.”

Johnson took the loss. He allowed eight runs — four earned — on 13 hits and a walk in six innings pitched. Johnson struck out six before turning things over to Moon.

“One of the things I always tell my players, you gotta play to every pitch, every out, every inning,” Chaney coach Eric Gruber said. “Everything we do, we gotta do it the right way to the way we do in practice. These guys know they made some good plays, but the plays they gotta make were the ones they got errors on.”

The win snapped a two-game losing skid for Niles. They fell to East and McDonald, and they still have a challenging stretch to finish the regular season.

But Toth has seen progress since the season started, especially at the plate.

“(The Cowboys) were hanging around, but we kept putting the ball in play,” Toth said. “We ended up with 17 hits, 16 hits. We have to continue to do that.”