Callie Countryman’s two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning on Friday not only proved to be the difference in a 3-1 win against Ottawa, it continued a trend for Sycamore in Interstate 8 Conference play.

The Spartans (10-1 overall, 3-0 conference) played nailbiters against the cream of the I-8 crop - a 3-2 win in eight innings against La Salle-Peru, a 4-1 win at Kaneland on Monday and Friday’s pitchers’ duel between Sycamore’s Bella Jacobs and Ottawa’s Addie Russell.

But they’ve pretty much blown out everyone else. Their average margin of victory is 10.6 runs in their seven other victories.

“These games are always way more fun to play in and it helps us continue to grow,” Countryman said. “Playing all these good teams, each team brings up a different component we continue to learn from.”

With a strong wind blowing out on Friday, both pitchers had a strong performance and all the runs were scored on home runs.

The Spartans struck first when Kairi Lantz blasted a no-doubter to dead centerfield field to lead off the second.

The Pirates (9-6, 2-2) answered in the fifth off Jacobs, who finished the game with 17 strikeouts. No. 8 hitter Joslyn Rose homered to center.

But Sycamore answered back in the bottom of the inning. Grace Caldwell led off with a walk. Russell got the next two batters and looked like she was going to escape the inning.

But Countryman ripped a pitch to right-center and Sycamore went back ahead 3-1.

Russell worked the outside part of the plate earlier, but started pitching inside in the fifth - exactly where Countryman likes it, the Sycamore second baseman said.

“She’s a great contact hitter,” Sycamore coach Jill Carpenter said. “She’s one of the best line-drive hitters we have. So on a day like today, if it can at least clear four feet when she hits it, and she squares it up, it’s probably going to go.”

The only other hit for the Spartans was a single by Faith Heil. Russell allowed three runs, struck out eight, walked a batter and hit two.

“I thought she pitched really well,” Ottawa coach Adam Lewis said. “They only had three hits. Unfortunately, two of their three hits were over the fence.”

The Pirates had a baserunner in every inning off Jacobs. They didn’t make an out on a ball in play until the fourth inning when Rylee Harsted popped up to left. The first 10 Pirate outs of the game were strikeouts.

Harsted and Avery Leigh had two hits each.

“We were just chasing too many pitches out of the zone is really what it equates to,” Lewis said. “The strike zone was a little bigger tonight and we extended it a little bit more from there.”

The Pirates lost to La Salle-Peru on Tuesday, also 3-1. They face Kaneland on Wednesday in a battle that will all but eliminate one of the two teams from title contention.

“I think we have a lot of younger kids on the team, so I think for them it’s just seeing really, really good pitching the first time through,” Lewis said. “Now they have to make their adjustments and make a run the second time through.”

Jacobs walked one and hit a batter. She allowed six hits and an earned run in seven innings to go with her 17 strikeouts.

The performance came in a game in which the Spartans matched their lowest run production of the season. Carpenter said the team has to score more runs in support of Jacobs to be successful.

“She’s an elite pitcher and she can put the team on her back if necessary,” Carpenter said. “But it’s nice when we can get her some support so she doesn’t have to feel the weight of the world on her shoulders.”