The third time wasn’t a charm, it was a relief. After apparently tying the game twice, only to have the runs wiped off the board, Salem completed a 6-4 comeback victory against West to open the baseball season on April 15, at Gill Stadium.

Trailing in the top of the sixth inning, 4-3, Shaun Yelle smacked a single to open the frame and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by catcher Josh Treff.

Sam Fazioli appeared to tie the game with an RBI double, but as the next Blue Devil hitter dug into the box, the home plate umpire ruled Yelle had stepped over home plate, and he was the second out of the inning, which ended a batter later.

Then in the top of the seventh, pesky Matt Gioia came around from first base to knot the score on an errant throw, but he was sent back to third after umpires decided the ball had left the field of play.

This time Salem bounced back with consecutive clutch hits to take the lead for good. Josh Heil’s RBI single evened things up, and Darren Brown put his team on top with a two-RBI base hit.

“We really didn’t hit until the seventh inning,” said head coach Dan Keleher. “We couldn’t get in a situation to bunt and make things happen. We needed a walk to get things going, and then a clutch hit.”

This season, Keleher is relying on the small ball approach – bunting, stealing – after 13 seniors graduated from the slugging 2008 team that narrowly lost in the state title game.

Treff, who caught some last year, and Heil are the only players with varsity experience. Heil played shortstop in ’08 before converting to third base this season.

“Last year we hit all the way through the lineup,” said Keleher. “I think these guys will scratch a few more runs out. Last year there wasn’t a lot of sacrifice bunting. You’ll see more of that from this team.”

Gioia, hitting ninth in the order, was 0-for-1 on the day, but sparked both run-scoring innings for the Blue Devils.

In addition to scoring the game-tying run after walking in the seventh, the second baseman led off the third with a walk, stole second and later scored the first of three Salem runs in the frame.

Keleher said it was a boost for his inexperienced team to come from behind in its first game of the year.

“I followed these guys all the way up. It’s basically the JV team from last year,” the coach said. “That’s the type of kids they are. They’re never going to be out of a game. It is a confidence boost, but I had a lot of confidence in them to begin with.”