Over the course of the Bradley-Bourbonnais baseball team’s five-game losing streak and 1-9 April record they took into Friday’s trip to Herscher, the Boilermakers have faced some of the top teams in the state and had their share of leads, including advantages of five or more runs against Homewood-Flossmoor and Normal.

But coach Brad Schweigert was waiting for his Boilers to play a full seven innings and hold on for a win.

Thanks to a decisive four-run third inning that was plenty of support for the senior pitching trio of Andrew Kubal, Lucas Garrett and Jace Boudreau and the error-free defense behind them, the Boilers did just that to the tune of a 5-1 win.

“That’s the next step for us,” Schweigert said. “We’ve got to be able to turn the page and finish games. Offensively we’ve been doing a pretty good job all year of being scrappy, scoring runs. We’ve just got to back it up defensively and pitching-wise and finish games that way. I was glad to see us do it today.”

Third baseman Keaton Allison singled to open the second, coming around to score the game’s first run on Jackson Cieslik’s sac fly, and drove in Eric Rainbolt with an RBI single for the first of their four tallies in the third.

The senior agreed with Schweigert that the Boilers (5-12) have proven to be a scrappy bunch this season, but have struggled with clicking at the same time. It’s something they learned how to do by watching some of the talented teams they’ve seen in recent weeks.

“This team’s been through a bunch of ups and downs, but I think having a win today is definitely going to set a better pathway for us for the rest of the season. ...” Allison said. “I think learning from other teams and seeing how they do it, such as Lincoln-Way East or Normal, the No. 2 and 3 teams in the state, they all bond really well, they all move as a pack and move as one. They’re very good together as a team and all consistent throughout the game, and I think we’ve learned how to do that.”

The Tigers got one back in the bottom of the third when one of two Gaige Brown singles on the day brought home Brock Berns, but that was the only damage they could do on Kubal, who scattered five hits, walked one and struck out a pair in four innings.

A basketball player in the winter, Kubal said Friday was the best he’s felt on the mound all spring as he continues to work his arm back up. He hopes that both he and the team can use Friday’s win as a springboard.

“I’m working into it, getting my arm slot where it needs to be, keeping my wrist tight on the curveball; it’s all the little things that I’m focusing on,” Kubal said. “That definitely felt good today, definitely good to get another local ‘W,’ but we need to start getting some conference wins and pushing that out to better teams.”

Boudreau, who singled, doubled and scored at the plate, followed Garrett’s perfect three-strikeout fifth with a pair of scoreless innings to seal the deal. With Liam Martin and Eric Rainbolt battling elbow injuries at the top of the rotation, Schweigert knows his pitching staff needs to continue to have the all-hands-on-deck approach it had Friday.

“We’re going to pitch by committee and figure out who can compete late in games,” Schweigert said. “Sometimes you’ve just got to put your best competitors on the mound. That’s what Jace, Lucas and Kubal are.”

The Tigers (15-7) had a solid day at the plate, scraping together seven hits to get a few run-scoring opportunities. But coach Eric Regez credited the Boilers pitching staff for buckling down and the defense behind them for keeping the home team at bay.

“They pitched and defended really well, turned some double plays,” Regez said. “Baseball is crazy where we could put some solid contact on the bat, and they’d turn it into two outs. That’s a credit to them.”

Freshman Colton Carson allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks in three innings. Dylan Bayston allowed a pair of hits in three innings, and Brock Berns threw a perfect seventh.

Both teams begin two-game conference series on Monday – the Boilers hosting Lincoln-Way West and the Tigers visiting Peotone.