Seneca coach Tim Brungard and the Irish felt like they couldn’t get out of town fast enough after Thursday’s baseball game at Princeton.

The Irish took an eight-run lead only to have the Tigers score two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and four more in the seventh with Seneca holding on for an 8-6 nonconference win.

“That went from a feel-good 8-2 win to a ‘we snuck by,’” Brungard said. “It’s always good to win. This late in the season when we’re gearing up for postseason play, you want to be playing your best baseball. In the seventh inning to compound mistakes and make multiple errors to let them creep back in, it’s not want you want to do.”

“It was really good to hold on there. Got a little nervous for a second, but we managed to come out with the win,” Seneca’s starting and winning pitcher Cam Shirley said.

Seneca (12-15) opened with four runs in the first and scored twice in the top of the sixth to go up 8-0.

Then came the Tigers.

Princeton scored two runs on three hits in the sixth with Cayden Benavidez delivering a two-out, two-run single, following a leadoff single by Hunter Spiegel, a hit by Stihl Brokaw while Noah Morton drew a walk.

Benavidez was the last batter to face Shirley, who scattered four hits with 10 strikeouts over 5⅔ innings.

The Tigers were just warming up. Hayden Sayler led off the seventh with a single to left and Abe Longeville reached on an error. Spiegel stroked a two-run single to left to make it 8-4.

Braden Shaw reached on an infield single. He stole second and Spiegel scored on the back end on a Seneca error to draw the Tigers within 8-5.

Jack Oester hit a sac fly to left to bring home Shaw from third to make it an 8-6 game before Morton flew out to center to end the game.

First-year Tigers coach Patrick Smith was pleased how his team battled back.

“We tell them pretty much every day. Really don’t care what the scoreboard says as long as we play the game the right way and compete to the very end,” Smith said. “There’s been some times this year where we almost folded and we didn’t do that today, which was nice to see.

“The first arm (Shirley) shut us down. He was a heck of a pitcher. We got to do a better job early in the game scratching across something. They definitely fought, which was nice to see.”

Seneca scored its four runs in the first on just two hits, including an RBI double by Cody Clennon and an RBI hit by Jace Mitchell. Griffin Hougas drew a bases-loaded walk and Vinny Corrado brought home the fourth run on a fielder’s choice.

“We were really good on two-strike approach today,” Shirley said. “That’s a definitely a step up from where we have. been in the past.”

Landyn Ramsey (two RBIs), Mitchell (two RBIs) and Hougas (RBI) each went 2 for 3 for the Irish.

Spiegel led the Tigers with two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs out of the No. 9 hole.

“Spiegel at the bottom of the order had one of the few hits we had against (Shirley). He put a nice game together. Put a couple nice swings on the ball,” Smith said. “We talk about having a good approach. Sometimes when we see a good arm we lose that a little bit. You worry about the velo. I think we did (worry) a little but in the middle of the game. We just got to keep plugging away.”

Princeton (7-15) returns to action Friday in the King of the Valley Illinois Valley Tournament was Washington Park with back to back games with Marquette and Newman.

The Irish (12-15) have now won 11 of their last 19 games after starting the season 1-7.

“Started off pretty slow, but we’ve played well of late. Kudos to these guys,” Brungard said. “They keep showing up when we ask them to be there in the morning and do all the extra work and it’s paying off for us now.

“I feel like we’re starting to pick up the pace a little bit. Definitely getting better on things we need to get better on. We all want it,” Shirley said.