District 19-6A playoff positions continued to stay neck and neck on Tuesday, with the third through sixth seeds being separated by just two games after wins by Seven Lakes, Cinco Ranch, Tompkins and Taylor, who are all battling to stay in the mix.

Cinco wins ninth in a row

Cinco Ranch kept up its surge in the second half of district, winning its ninth game in a row on Tuesday, but it took an effort as the Cougars needed late runs to get past the Panthers and improve to 18-5-3 and 9-3 in district on the year. Josh Morelli took the mound for Cinco and went three innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits while striking out one and walking none in the win. Cinco stayed in second in district, behind only Katy which had a bye on Tuesday.

Paetow took the lead in the first inning, scoring on a passed ball, but Cinco came back to tie it in the bottom of the first on a Lucas Franco RBI double before Dylan Muniz added another on a sacrifice fly, giving Cinco the lead. Paetow came right back with runs on a Emmanuel Montalvo single and a Yarel Delgado sacrifice fly to retake the lead in the second inning.

The game stayed that way until the sixth inning. Cinco tied the game on a Drew Tureau single and Karsten Kleiweg put Cinco ahead on a single. Franco then came to the plate and hit a triple that drove in three to make it 7-3 Cougars. Paetow tried to fight back in the seventh and scored on a Charles Radley tripe and again on a Victor Salazar ground out to trim the Cinco lead to two, but that was all the Panthers could muster before the end of the game.

Salazar led the way for Paetow with two RBIs, while Camden Phillips took the mound and went 5.2 innings for the Panthers, allowing three earned runs on six hits while striking out three and walking two.

Taylor run rules Mayde Creek

Taylor run ruled Mayde Creek 11-0 on Tuesday to keep up its strong play in district, improving to 17-10-1 overall and 7-3 in district behind a balanced offensive day and a strong pitching performance, led by Joshua Higginbotham, who pitched three innings and didn’t allow a run on one hit while striking out five. They stayed tied for third place in district with the win.

Taylor scored four runs in the bottom of the first, getting two on a Nolan Veeder single and getting two more on an error. The Mustangs kept it going in the second getting a fifth on a Nate Larsen single and a sixth on a Chase Marshall sacrifice fly and Taylor scored more in the third, getting one on a Cole Holsomback single, two on an error and an 11^th on a bases loaded walk. Taylor held Mayde Creek the rest of the way to clinch the win.

The Rams fell to 2-22-1 on the season and 0-12 in district with the loss.

Seven Lakes stays in playoff pack

Seven Lakes got an important win on Tuesday, beating Jordan 10-2 and staying tied for third in district with a 15-9-2 record and a 7-3 district record. James Levin had a strong day on the mound, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out seven and walking one in six innings, while three players had two RBIs for the Spartans.

Nate Johnson got the scoring started in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly and Ty Berra drove in a second with a single before Austin Hassmann hit a single of his own to drive in a third. Owen Wade kept things going in the third, driving in two on a single before Jordan got one back in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Cole Keppler. Seven lakes came right back though. Hassmann drove in another on a single in the fourth before Nate Johnson drove in on a triple and Christian Villamizar hit a single to drive in another in the fifth. The Spartans drove in two more on a Jacob Tucker single and a Jeremy King sacrifice fly in the sixth to seal the win with Jordan scoring just one in the seventh on a Dante Mazzoccoli ground out before the game came to an end.

Owen Wendt pitched for Jordan and went .2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits while walking one in the loss. The Warriors fell to 11-12 overall and 4-6 in district.

Tompkins earns strong win

Tompkins kept up its winning streak and extended it to five games on Tuesday, beating Morton Ranch 11-2 and improving to 14-11 overall and 6-4 in district play.

Tompkins struck first in the second inning when Aidan Corey hit a one run single and Ian Palacios added a second on a single of his own. Morton Ranch came back to tie it in the top of the third on a Manuel Aranguren-Bravo 2-run triple, but Tompkins got back ahead in the fourth on a Palacios sacrifice fly. Tompkins added another on an error and one when Cash Wilson hit a single in the fifth. The Falcons would go on to make it 11 runs before the end to clinch the win.

Morton Ranch fell to 7-19-1 overall and 1-11 in district with the loss.