Sometimes it isn’t the amount of hits but when those hits come that matter most.

Oak Park-River Forest had just four of them on Monday with a string of four innings where they didn’t have any at all, but those four hits were almost perfectly placed when it did get them propelling them to a 5-3 victory over previously undefeated Lyons.

OPRF (7-3) jumped out of the gates early as the first two batters of the game reached, first when Zach Goldberg was hit by a pitch and then when Johnny Nelson reached on an error.

After a strikeout, Robert Kolovitz connected for the Huskies first hit of the game, a double, that would score both runners and give them a quick 2-0 lead.

“That kid [Lyons starting pitcher Nicholas Hines] is on my travel team so I knew what he was coming with,” Kolovitz said. “He threw a slider. It was a 2-0 count so I knew it was going to be in the zone and I just wanted to hit it.”

Lyons (8-1) got half of that back in its half of the first. Blake Ragsdale lashed a double and would later come around to score on a wild pitch.

OPRF kept on the attack in its half of the second. Connor Krumrei reached on a dropped third strike to start the inning and Ian Moore kept the line moving with a single. Krumrei would eventually come around on a wild pitch to score, while Goldberg drove in Moore to push OPRF’s lead to 4-1.

“I thought we left a couple of guys on base but overall I thought our approach was good,” Oak Park-River Forest coach Kevin Campbell said. “We barreled balls up and like we tell the guys, barrel balls up like that and they are going to find holes at some point.”

Fortunately for the Huskies enough of that damage got done early that they didn’t need abundant offense to maintain the lead as they wouldn’t get another hit over the next four innings.

OPRF’s pitching staff was up to the task of protecting the lead. Things got a little harried when Lyons pushed across two more runs in the its half of the third to close within 4-3, but despite having numerous runners on base the combination of Cam Barnes and Owen Edwards were enough to keep the Lions at bay.

Edwards was particularly effective, allowing just one hit and one walk over the final three innings.

“The goal was trying to get Cam to get into the fourth or fifth inning with the week that we got,” Campbell said. “Then having a guy like Owen come out of the pen and probably throwing the best game that he has all year was great to see.”

Kolovitz would add an insurance run with a solo home run in the seventh, the only hit OPRF had over the final five innings.

The Huskies and Lions will lock horns again on Tuesday and then again on Thursday to account for the three-game conference series between the two schools and Campbell was pleased his team was able to start the set on the right foot.

“This is obviously one of our bigger series of the year and it’s a conference battle and they [Lyons] are always going to compete for a conference championship,” Campbell said. “It’s a win that is really going to help us down the road.”