SHENANDOAH — The grind has begun for Marian’s baseball team as it enters the home stretch of the Schuylkill Baseball League Division 2 season.

There are no off days. The Colts must stay focused and avoid missteps.

They left Marty F. DeLuca Stadium on Thursday with an early lead, saw it shrink, then secured an 8-4 victory.

The win keeps Marian on track for a league playoff berth, but three teams remain tied at 8-2. Schuylkill Haven and Williams Valley are close behind. Thursday’s win eliminated Shenandoah Valley.

Marian took control early, jumping to a 7-1 lead in its first two at-bats. Chase Gutsie and Noah Bauder both opened with singles before Roman Bednarek walked to load the bases. Jimmy Cannon’s groundout scored Gutsie, and Cole DeFrancesco walked to reload the bases. Shenandoah Valley struggled on the mound, as a hit batter and a walk built Marian’s lead to 4-0.

The Blue Devils answered with a run. Chase McCole, who had three hits, singled to center, stole second and scored on a double-steal attempt to make it 4-1.

Marian extended its lead to 5-1, taking advantage of an error and a wild pitch. It added two more runs to go up 7-1. Brayden Grant walked, and eventually scored while Bauder also delivered an RBI hit.

The game slowed after Shenandoah Valley catcher Haden Kechula was hit by a foul ball and later switched positions. The delay lasted nearly 10 minutes, and Marian lost momentum.

Manager John “Pilsey” Petrilyak said the interruption affected his team.

“Two (of their) catchers going down took momentum away. We had the mojo going and I think that kind of affected us a little bit.”

Marian scored just once more, adding a run in the sixth. Bednarek doubled and scored on Cole Jordan’s single to make it 8-4. Jordan had two hits off the bench.

“I thought we got a little tentative with our bats,” Petrilyak said, “we were looking at pitches down the middle of the plate.”

The Blue Devils scored three runs in the third. Kechula singled before Justin Lajara doubled to left for an RBI. Ethan Bench added a single, and Fred Gradwell drove in two runs on one of his two hits.

“I like the way we battled against a very good team,” Shenandoah Valley manager Frank McCole said. “We had a lot of fight in us, something that we’ve been missing most of the season.”

Shenandoah Valley threatened in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. McCole nearly hit a home run to left in the fourth, but it was ruled a double. Marian pitcher Chase Grier then induced a groundout and a popup to limit damage.

In the fifth, Bench singled to left and Gabe Saba walked, but Grier again escaped with a groundout and a strikeout.

The Colts faced another test in the sixth. With one out, McCole hit his second double. Marian reliever Bednarek regrouped and recorded a groundout and a line drive out to end the threat.

Petrilyak said Bednarek is difficult for hitters to read.

“He’s got a funky release, he throws from all different angles, he comes in and throws five (different) pitches and keeps you off balance,” he said.

With the regular season winding down, Petrilyak likes his team’s position.

“We’re playing good baseball, I like the way we’re playing right now,” he said. “I’m happy with the bench play, the pitching … to be where we are right now, our goal was to win 15 games, today’s number 11.”

ON THE HORIZON ... “I think this division is tight; Williams Valley is obviously very good, Schuylkill Haven is always good — these guys always give you a good game,” Petrilyak said.

AT THE PLATE ... Marian was out-hit 9-7. Bauder and Jordan had two hits each. Gutsie, Bednarek and DeFrancesco all added one apiece. Shenandoah Valley was led by McCole’s three hits, while Bench contributed two. Kechula, Lajara, Gradwell and Saba all added singles.

OUT OF HERE ... McCole’s fourth-inning double to left was ruled a ground-rule double. Afterward, McCole said he believed it left the field after speaking with a Marian player.

HE CAN PLAY ... Marian’s center fielder has the speed to track down balls and covers plenty of ground. A sophomore, Gutsie made a standout play last week against Williams Valley, racing to deep center to catch a ball in no-man’s land and making it look routine.

Marian 412 001 0 - 8 8 0

Shenandoah Vy. 103 000 0 - 4 9 2

Grier, Bednark (6) and Labenburg; Bench, Kechula (4) and Kechula and Lajara (2). W - Grier. L - Bench.

Records: Marian (11-3; 8-2); Shenandoah Valley (8-6; 6-4).