THE Tamworth Warriors have gone down swinging against the Tamworth Cougars in the weekend's A grade action.
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The round seven local derby saw both sides head into the game in winning form and eager to continue their winning ways.
Cougars jumped out to an early lead thanks to a combination of a safe hit from Andrew Ferris and costly Warriors errors.
Things really tightened up in the following three innings as both sides went scoreless.
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The dry spell was thanks to the tight pitching of Warriors starter Johnny Warren, who threw 80 strikes for the game and Ferris, who threw a total of 78.
Brock Ridgewell then broke the dry spell of runs by bringing in two runs and extending the Cougars' lead to four after five innings.
Not willing to let the game slip away in the sixth inning, Warriors' coach Nathan Handsaker got his side on the scoreboard with a towering home run over the left field fence.
The flow of runs continued for the Warriors in the seventh inning as a series of errors from the Cougars saw the Warriors score seven unearned runs to take an 8-5 lead.
In response, Ferris, Aiden Lee, Kirby McIntosh and Kris Bird all registered hits for the Cougars to reclaim the lead with only minutes of playing time remaining.
With the game on the line in the final inning, a dramatic team fielding effort resulted in a double play and a 9-8 victory for the Cougars.
It was a similar affair in B grade as the Cougars and Warriors battled it out in a see-sawing affair.
A man-of-the-match performance from Lucas Brown saw the Cougars across the line, walking away 5-3 winners.
As well as three hits, Brown also starred on the mound for the Cougars throwing 23 strikes for the game, while Hayden Hopwood-Young also registered three hits.
Noah Warren was the Warriors' best with the bat, finishing the game with two hits.
The clash marked a special moment for Warren, who played alongside his father Johnny for the first time.
In the round's other A grade action, the Armidale Outlaws proved too strong for the Gunnedah Giants, claiming a 19-9 victory.
Brad Smith was the Outlaws' best with the bat finishing with four hits and six runs batted in. Alan Brand was the Giants' best with three hits.
In B grade, the Outlaws scored a comprehensive 21-1 victory over the Pandas.
The players will now turn their attention to Tamworth's 51st annual baseball carnival over the long weekend.