It had all the intensity and excitement of a playoff game.

There was plenty of drama; a lot of flare, and a great display of clutch hitting.

But in the end, it came down to Marian’s penchant for winning games late.

The Colts’ 7-6 Schuylkill League Division 3 baseball win Monday had the feel of a late-season or even postseason game despite being played in the first few weeks of the campaign.

Panther Valley was paddling upstream for most of this rivalry. The visitors found themselves down by four runs heading into their final at bat.

When the Panthers roared back to forge a tie, it was the Colts needing to respond. They did just that, much the same way they did last Thursday at Shenandoah Valley, rallying for the victory.

In the bottom of the seventh, Marian’s Mike Minchhoff beat out an infield single. Hunter Fristick then slapped a seeing-eye single to the right side of the infield. Minchhoff had faked a steal on the pitch, forcing Panther Valley second baseman Jake Taras to move toward the second base bag. The hit was a bleeder at the vacated spot and Minchhoff never slowed down as he rounded second and dove into third. When the ball was overthrown, Minchhoff got back up, headed home, and barely beat the throw for the winning run.

“We’re living dangerously and we’re living on the edge,” chuckled Marian coach Tony Radocha after watching his team win its second league game in the past week in its final at bat.

“We just broke down in the first and seventh innings,” said Panther Valley manager Richie Evanko. “I mean we made a lot of mental mistakes, we were not (disciplined) at the plate early, and at the end we paid for it.”

When Marian burst in front with a five-run rally in the third for a 7-2 lead it appeared to go into coast mode.

“We thought we had this won,” Radocha said. “You’ve got to play this game right up until the final out is made.

We changed pitchers (Alex Kubishin for Seth Derr), because we wanted to give Alex some work. Last year, he hurt his arm and didn’t throw much. But he was a little off.”

Marian was on with the long ball early in the game, driving three blasts of the yard.

Kubishin smoked the first home run at windy Marian Stadium. His two-run shot drove in Aaron Mason, who had singled to open the home first

The Colts were starting to mash it up in the third when Minchhoff went to the opposite field for a two-run homer to left. Later with two on and two outs, Quest Wilson went downtown. Wilson’s three-run homer, also to left, drove in Randy Cann and Derr who both singled.

After that the Colts were held in check by relief pitcher Aaron Miller who replaced starter Mason Goida. “(Miller) had us all over the place, he did a great job for them,” said Radocha.

Trailing 7-2, the Panthers added a run in the fifth thanks to a walk by Chuck Byers, a Goida single and a sacrifice fly by Brad Buzzard,.

The Panthers then stoked the flames with a dramatic rally of their own in the seventh. Byers uncorked a solo home run leading off the inning. Goida walked and when Miller was awarded first on a catchers-interference, Buzzard was back up and he promptly scalded a two-run double making it 7-6. Wyatt Zimmerman delivered a big run-scoring single to tie it at 7-7 and set the stage for Marian’s walk-off rally.

“In my opinion, I thought we only played the first and last inning,” said Evanko. “There was absolutely no quit, and that’s nice to say, but you cannot make mental mistakes in this game. Especially against a team that is this good.”

TERRIFIC PLAYS … There were some web gems on both sides. In the second, PV leftfielder Buzzard took a base hit away from Mason with a great snag on a liner. Matt Doherty was rubbed out on a grounder to short, where Miller made a standout play. Twice Marian shortstop Mason came up with big plays to peg out runners.

WHACKING IT AROUND … Buzzard was on fire at the plate for Panther Valley. He had three hits, including two doubles, and four RBIs. Goida and Taras both added two hits for PV ... Minchhoff enjoyed a three-hit afternoon for the Colts, including two RBIs and a home run. Kubishin singled twice and drove in two runners. Wilson’s three-run homer was a keynote hit as well. Dante Agosti added a triple to account for four extra-base hits by the Colts.

Panther Vy. 101 010 4 - 7 9 0

Marian 205 000 1 - 8 12 0

Goida, Miller (3) and Taras; Minchoff, Derr (3), Kubishin (7) and Richart. W - Kubishin L - Miller.