TORONTO — The Oregon Clay baseball team took advantage of its opportunity to knock Toronto from the ranks of the unbeaten.

After falling behind by two runs after the first inning, the Eagles tallied the games final seven runs en route to defeating the Red Knights, 7-2, in a matchup of state-ranked teams Friday evening at the Knights Baseball Complex.

“They are a Division 1 team that’s ranked in the state,” Toronto (8-1) head coach Brian Perkins said. “We’re glad we were able to have them come here. Our kids played really well. We competed. This is only going to make us better.”

The Eagles are ranked 17th in Division 1, while the Red Knights are ranked No. 1 in Division IV.

“We played a really good Toronto team,” Clay (4-1) head coach Jim Phillips said. “We played seven innings. It’s early in the season. I think we have to make sure we play seven full innings against good teams. It’s early. Hopefully, this will help us get to where we want to be come tournament time.”

The visitors from Lucas County outhit the Jefferson Countians, 11-2. The hosts struck out 14 times — with all 10 batters striking out at least once — while the victors struck out six times.

Senior standout Jared Hoersten was the star of the game for Clay as he came on in relief in the bottom of the first, and he struck out 10 batters in 5 1/3 innings of work on his way to recording the win. Hoersten also reached base four times, and he finished the game with two singles and a run-scoring triple while also scoring multiple times.

“He came in and did a nice job,” Phillips said. “He pounded the zone. He forced them to put the ball in play. You are going to have success when you throw strikes.”

Vinny Gallaher started on the mound for Clay, however, he did not make it out of the first inning. The junior struck out one and walked three in his 2/3 of an inning of work before being relieved by Hoersten.

Senior Anthony Barnes came on to pitch the seventh. Barnes struck out three of the four batters he faced to seal the deal. The other batter reached on Clay’s lone error of the game.

“They threw three very good pitchers,” Perkins said. “We were able to break through early on. The kids had good at-bats. When we put the ball in play, they were able to make the plays.”

The Red Knights only managed two hits en route to their first loss of the season.

Blake Close started on the mound for Toronto, and he was saddled with the loss. Close struck out six and walked two in 4 2/3 inning of work on the mound. Aiden Filby came on in relief with two outs in the fifth. Filby pitched the rest of the way. He did not strike out or walk a batter.

Nine of the Eagles’ 11 hits were singles.

Junior third baseman Alex Sutton collected four hits to lead the way. Sutton contributed three singles, a double and two RBI to lead the Clay charge, senior catcher Brendan Hazuda singled home a pair of runs. while Christian Mays, Jase Kennedy and Drake Sekinger all delivered a single.

“We were consistent throughout the lineup,” Phillips said. “We put the ball in play. We put pressure on their defense. We want to take good swings and put the ball in play.”

Russ Dickinson delivered a two-run single for Toronto, while Zane Kinsey ended up with a single.

Dickinson’s single scored Kinsey and Dom Bouscher — both of whom drew walks from Gallaher — to give the Red Knights a 2-0 advantage in the home half of the first.

Clay took advantage of three Toronto errors as the Eagles produced multiple unearned runs.

Trailing 2-0 in the third, the Eagles scored two runs in the inning after an error to knot the score at 2. The dropped throw on the infield led to one run, and Sutton singled home the other to tie the score.

The score remained deadlocked until the fifth when the Eagles erupted for four runs to take a 6-2 lead and gain control of the game. Toronto committed its second error in the inning. Hoersten plated a run with a triple, and Hazuda brought home a pair with a base hit.

“This is was a great opportunity for us to play against Toronto,” Phillips said. “They are a state power year in and year out. This was a good measuring stick for us. We knew it would be a dogfight. It was a tough game. We were fortunate to come away with the win. This was a big win for us.”

Hoersten led off the seventh, reached on another Red Knight error and scored on a Sutton single to increase Clay’s advantage to 7-2.

“We made a couple of mistakes,” Perkins said. “Against quality teams, you are not going to get away with that. When you play a good team and you do things like that, you’re going to get exposed. We have some things we have to clean up. We will have them fixed.”

Phillips, who graduated from Clay, played baseball in college at Youngstown State, and he played in a doubleheader against Central Michigan March 28, 2004 with both games being played at Toronto. The Penguins swept the Chippewas, winning the first game, 6-2, before winning the second one, 6-4. Phillips had a hit in each game.

“I love coming back to Toronto,” Phillips said. “This is a beautiful complex. This community values high school sports. This a great atmosphere to play a baseball game.”

Toronto graduate J.D. Hannan was a teammate of Phillips’ at YSU.

Both teams were scheduled to return to the field Saturday at the KBC in a Prep Baseball Report Ohio High School Spring Classic. Clay is scheduled to play Canfield at 10 a.m., while Toronto is slated to play Norton at 12:15 p.m. in the second of four scheduled games. St. Clairsville will play Marlington at 2:30, while Harrison Central will take on Carrollton at 4:45 p.m.

Clay 7, Toronto 2

Clay 002 040 1 – 7 11 1

Toronto 200 000 0 – 2 2 3

CLAY (4-1): Gallaher ND (2/3IP, 1K, 3BB), Hoersten WP (5 1/3IP, 10K, 2BB), Barnes (1IP, 3K, 0BB) and Hazuda. Mays S; Hoersten 2S, T, RBI; Kennedy S; Sutton 3S, D, 2RBI; Hazuda S, 2RBI; Sekinger S.

TORONTO (8-1): Close LP (4 2/3IP, 6K, 2BB), Filby (2 1/3IP, 0K, 0BB) and Henry. Za. Kinsey S; Dickinson S, 2RBI.