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Austin Yager was getting tired as the Cardinals were clinging to a 4-2 lead in the seventh inning Monday but he knew he wanted to finish.
So he did with a little help from his friends.
Thanks to a higher than average play turned in by JR Linscheid, Yager earned the pitching decision and Highland got the win over Benton/Shullsburg 4-2.
That kept the Cardinals unbeaten both in Six Rivers West play and in all games so far this season.
With a runner on base and the Zephyrs trying to get the tying run on Linscheid roamed to his right and picked up a ball in the hole, rifling it to first base to nip the runner by a step That ended the game and preserved Yager's hard work on the mound.
Linscheid was also a force at the plate, He tripled in a pair of runs in the top of the third, sending in Nate Michek who had singled and Nate Robinson who walked.
The Cardinals moved to a 3-0 lead in the fourth when Alex Michek doubled and scored on a rocket to short by Nate Michek.
They put their final run on the board in the sixth when Yager singled, got to second on a ground out and third on a passed ball. A wild pitch got him across the plate.
Benton/Shullsburg scored single runs in the fifth and seventh.
Yager spaced three hits, fanned nine, walked three and hit one. Both runs were earned.
Wyatt Cook made the day tough for the Cardinals. He gave up four runs, two earned, struck out 12 and walked two. The Cardinals got four hits off Cook - Linscheid's triple, Alex Michek's double and singles by Yager and Nate Michek.
"It was good to get the game in even though it was pretty cold," said coach Terry Cool. "It was a well played game. The kids did all right."
The Cardinals host Pecatonica Friday in a doubleheader.