After two straight outs in the sixth inning, Warren East’s Matt Downey stepped to the plate with the game tied and Landon White anxiously waiting at third to score the go-ahead run.

With one swing of the bat and a lucky bounce between first and second, Downey hit an RBI single for what would be the game-winning score in the Raiders’ 5-4 home win over Monroe County on Tuesday.

“It means a lot to us to get us a win for the first time in two weeks,” Downey said. “I knew I had to come and get a base hit to get an RBI to win the game. I wasn’t really feeling any pressure, I just wanted to get a hit and get on base to get the win.”

The Raiders were forced to rally after seeing a 4-0 lead evaporate into the 4-4 tie.

The victory also ends a four-game skid for the Raiders.

“It’s good, I will take it,” Warren East coach Wes Sanford said. “I think we should be playing better than this right now, but a win is a win. We needed a win bad. It is good that we got the lead, they came back and we got the run when we needed it.”

Warren East (10-15, 6-7) got on the board quickly to start the game. The Raiders reeled off four hits and scored four runs in the first inning to get the lead.

White singled to start the game for Warren East and moved to second after Kyle Tooley singled on a ground ball to third.

The two leadoff hits set up Mark Biggs for a big play. Swinging at a 2-1 pitch, Biggs smashed a three-run home run over the left field fence to give Warren East a 3-0 lead.

“I was just trying to put a swing on the ball and I guess I did,” Biggs said. “I was happy that it got some runs on the board and get us off to a good start. I was trying to hustle out because I wasn’t sure if it was gone, but when the outfielder hit the fence, I knew it was gone.”

Later in the inning, the Raiders got another run after Downey scored when Kyle Tibbs reached first on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded.

After the first-inning explosion that saw all nine hitters at the plate, the Raiders only got four more hits until the sixth inning.

“We seemed real dead,” Biggs said. “I thought we would come out and jump all over them after that first inning, but we just seemed real dead. But the win gets us in the right mindset.”

Monroe County (8-13) didn’t get on the board until the fourth inning. The Falcons made some noise by scoring two runs off four hits to make the score 4-2.

Monroe County got two more runs in the sixth inning to tie the game at 4-4. The first run came when Jackson Arnett scored from third on a passed ball. The second run scored after Spencer Petett reached home when Chad Wilson grounded out at first.

Warren East will play Bowling Green in first round of the District 14 Tournament.

“Bowling Green is still tops in the region I think,” Sanford said. “They are going to be tough to beat. We just have to get better. Hopefully just put a good game together and give it our best shots.”

The Raiders return to action at 5 p.m. Thursday at Barren County.

MCHS 000 202 0 – 4 5 2

WEHS 400 001 x – 5 8 3