Staff photo / Preston Byers Boardman’s Ryan Neifer pitches during Friday’s win vs. Springfield in New Middletown.

NEW MIDDLETOWN — Neither offense proved particularly effective, but Boardman’s two runs were enough to best Springfield in a non-league game Friday in New Middletown.

While the Spartans scored in the first inning and again in the fourth, the Tigers could not muster a run in the 2-0 loss.

“We didn’t play our best game,” Boardman coach Joe Lendak said. “I thought our approaches at the plate were a little undisciplined, swinging early in counts, trying to drive the ball instead of just taking it where it was pitched, but we did enough to win.”

Boardman got off to a start that would seemingly indicate a strong offensive showing. Landon Whippo gave the Spartans the lead in the top of the first with an RBI double that scored Grayson Eicher.

However, neither team managed to do much at the plate in the second or third innings, during which they combined for four hits, three walks and zero runs.

Boardman added to its lead in the fourth inning when Kaden Mayhew’s two-out single brought home Whippo, who drew a leadoff walk.

Springfield, which had four hits on the day, had its best chance to score in the fifth inning after Boardman starting pitcher Ryan Neifer walked Michael McAllister and allowed Noah Troggio to single. Both McAllister and Troggio advanced to scoring position, but neither managed to score as Neifer struck out Jackson Ensley for the final out of the inning.

The Tigers never got closer than that; they did not record another hit, and Daylin Barber, courtesy of a walk in the sixth inning, was the only runner in the final two frames.

“We could have played it – probably done some different things,” Springfield head coach Terry Dobson said of the missed opportunity in the fifth inning. “You got to give him (Neifer) credit on the mound. He threw some strikes, and he came back against us. He’s a pretty good pitcher.”

Neifer earned the win Friday, having struck out six and allowed four hits and four walks in six innings pitched. Whippo recorded the save with a six-pitch outing in the seventh inning.

Payton Novak picked up the loss; he allowed one earned run and struck out two in 1 1/3 innings pitched. Troggio and Jaxon Minetti combined for 5 2/3 innings in relief.

Lendak credited the control of the Tigers’ pitching staff as a potential reason for Boardman’s lack of plate discipline.

“I think sometimes when you see pitchers who maybe don’t quite throw as hard as what we normally face, guys get out of their approach and they start to try to pull the ball, and their heads start flying out,” Lendak said. “We’ve seen a lot of really good pitching this year, and I think we get used to a little bit more velocity, and then when guys come and throw a little bit more off-speed and they’re locating, if you come with the same approach, you’re not going to get the same results because the pitches are coming in differently.”

Lendak hopes Friday’s win will be the start of a strong final 10 days before Boardman’s postseason begins. The coach admitted his team, which had lost each of its last three completed games entering Friday, has not been at its best as of late.

Fortunately, the Spartans have four games over the next week in hopes of finding a groove before their playoff opener vs. Stow-Munroe Falls on May 27.

“We have a big game against Fitch to finish up on Wednesday,” Lendak said. “If we win that game, we win the league outright. So obviously, we want to do that. … And then we have a really good Division I GlenOak team, who’s about 20-4, on Friday as a tune-up. So that’ll give us a really good idea of where we stand come tournament time. But we definitely got to clean some things up, especially on the offensive end.”

Similarly, Springfield has games scheduled vs. Jackson-Milton and Cardinal Mooney on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, before playing Rootstown on Friday in the Division VI, Northeast 4 sectional final.

Dobson said he knows what he wants to see from his team heading into the postseason.

“Play aggressively and get aggressive at the plate,” Dobson said. “Before, we just weren’t aggressive enough, and [we] watched too many strikes go by.”