With one out, Kayden Althoff got his first of five hits, grounding a base hit up the middle. Evan Wermert walked and then with two outs, Evan Addis and Derek Konkel got back-to-back RBI singles.

But that was only the beginning of the offensive fireworks.

Benton scored two more runs in the second, but the Shoes came back with five of their own, capped by a long two-run blast off the bat of Andy Niebrugge that easily cleared the leftfield fence that closed the gap to 8-7.

The Rangers increased their lead to 11-7 in the fourth, but T-Town continued spraying hits all over the diamond and pushed five runs across in the bottom of the frame to take its first lead at 12-11.

In the fourth, Wermert doubled off the centerfield fence to drive in one run, Niebrugge added a run-scoring single, Konkel added a ground-rule double and Mitch Althoff capped the inning with another double that brought two more runners across the plate.

“The whole game was like a roller-coaster,” Fleener said. “Fortunately, the bats stayed with us. We kept getting quality at-bats, putting runners in scoring position and then coming through with those big hits.”

Benton came right back with five runs, but the Shoes responded with another big inning in the bottom of the fifth.

Wermert and Niebrugge started things off with back-to-back walks and Addis made Benton pay. He connected on a 3-2 pitch and drove the ball well over the 380-foot mark in centerfield to get THS within 16-15.

But the Shoes were far from finished in the fifth. Konkel and Dylan Pruemer both singled and Logan Roepke ripped a double down the third base line to drive in the tying run. After Sam Bushur walked to load the bases, Kayden Althoff delivered another one of those clutch hits, driving in what proved to be the winning runs, putting the hosts up 18-16.

For the first time in the game, Benton didn’t score in the sixth, but the Shoes were right back at it in the bottom of the frame. Niebrugge and Addis singled, moved up a base on a ground out and both scored on an error. Mitch Althoff walked and Bushur was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Kayden Althoff came through again, blooping a base hit into right field to drive home the final two runs of the contest.

“We just kept putting ourselves in position to score,” Fleener explained. “But that’s what we want. Then it’s up to our guys to relax, put in a quality at-bat and drive those runners in. I’m really proud of how our guys handled those situations today.”

Hayden Ruholl, the third THS pitcher, relieved in the fifth and pitched the final three innings to get the win. Bushur was the starter and went the first 2.2 innings and Cade Buehnerkemper followed with 1.1 innings of work.

“Sam didn’t have his best stuff today,” Fleener said. “But give that young man credit. After giving up six runs in the first inning, he didn’t hang his head. He just kept competing and gave us a couple solid innings.

“Cade continues to be a pleasant surprise,” Fleener added. “He kind of held them at bay and did his job. And this is the third time Hayden has come on in relief for us. He really battled out there and got that double play to end the game.”

The three Shoes pitchers combined to allow 16 runs on 11 hits, while walking 10 and striking out 8. That trio threw a total of 180 pitches.

Kayden Althoff went 5-for-6 at the plate and drove in six runs to lead T-Town’s 22-hit attack. Addis had four hits and four RBI, while Konkel and Niebrugge both collected three hits.

“We really barreled some balls up well, but we needed to do that to stay in the game,” Fleener said. “We’ve still got things we need to work on, but we’re showing improvement.”

The Shoes, who are now 7-2, will play Thursday at Olney and then open Apollo Conference play Saturday at Charleston.