Coming into the showdown against No. 1 ranked Glenwood Thursday night, the Pike Liberal Arts Patriots had used its ability to hit the long ball to propel itself to the No. 4 ranking.

The Patriots hit six home runs on Monday in its victory over Hooper Academy to bring its total to 31 on the season.

Even though that number would not change against Glenwood – PLAS still found a way to win, as the Patriots took down the Gators, 8-5.

Will Starling improved his record to 6-0 on the season, pitching six and a third innings, giving up all five runs on six hits while striking out four.

Ross Hixon came in in relief of Starling with one out in the seventh and the bases loaded to get the final two outs and secure the victory.

“We played well (Thursday night) head coach Butch Austin said after the game.

“We hit the ball hard, pitched well and played good defense – overall it was a good game.”

Austin went on to say the biggest key to the victory was the team’s ability to produce at the plate.

“We didn’t hit any home runs (Thursday night) but we still hit the ball hard and when you do that, good things are going to happen.”

Starling helped himself at the plate, finishing 3-5 with two RBIs, while Trey Walters and Lawson Stewart finished 4-5 and 3-4, respectively.

The win improved PLAS to 19-3 on the season.

“I am proud of the way we stepped up for this game,” the coach said.

“We came to the ball park looking like we were happy to be there and ready to play.

“I think this was a good win for the team. Glenwood is a good team and had a good program, hopefully this will be something that should give us a lot of confidence,” Austin added.

But even with this win under the team’s belt, there is still not much time to celebrate according to the coach.

Austin pointed out two games next week where the Patriots will be facing two-ranked opponents in Fort Dale on the road on Tuesday, who is No. 8, and Glenwood, this time at Butch Austin Field. In the mean time, PLAS will hit the today to take on Malone High School at Dixie Academy.

with the game scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.