Sacred Heart Prep baseball maintains first place lead atop Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division standings after rallying for an 8-5 win over second-place Aragon

And yet, after three innings, the Dons found themselves leading 5-4.

But Covey bowed his neck and held Aragon scoreless for the next three innings, the Gators’ offense rallied for four runs in their final two at-bats and then reliever Blake Affrunti slammed the door shut in the seventh as SHP rallied for an 8-5 win in a crucial Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division game.

“Very different game than what we expected,” said Aragon manager John Rally, adding he expected, “low-scoring, clean baseball.”

Instead, the game was dramatic and chaotic. The teams combined for 13 runs on 18 hits, there were a combined five errors, four committed by the Gators, six plays at the plate and six SHP bunts.

Or as SHP Sean McMillan described it: “League play. That’s how it goes.”

With the win, SHP (6-1 PAL Ocean, 14-4 overall) extended its Ocean Division win streak to six in a row and it is the Gators’ ninth straight win, overall.

And if there is one thing the Gators have learned this year it’s how to win to close games. SHP had played seven, one-run games this season, including four during its winning streak. And it was a one-run game again Tuesday as Aragon (4-3, 12-6) scored two runs in the top of the first and three more in the top of the second to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead.

At that point, Aragon starter Xavier Ruiz settled into a groove. There may no bigger dichotomy in pitchers than the one between Covey and Ruiz. Covey is a power pitcher who can throw 90 mph. Ruiz probably doesn’t break 80 and yet he retired the side in order in the third and wiggled out of a runners-at second-and-third jam in the fourth.

“It sounds stupid, but [Ruiz is] a pitcher,” Rally said. “He mixes speeds. He can throw to all four quadrants. He can control the running game.”

But the Gators rallied with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to saddle Ruiz with the loss before tacking on two insurance runs against the Dons’ bullpen in the sixth to pull out the win.

And it all started with a walk to Kyle Sweeney leading off the fifth. Brayden Berta was hit by a pitch before pinch hitter Isacc Aviles came through with an RBI single to left-center to drive in Sweeney to tie the game at 5-all, with Berta moving around to third.

It was an important 90 feet as he was able to score on Drew Parker’s sacrifice fly to right, with Berta barely beating the throw to put the Gators ahead to stay, 6-5.

Aragon looked poised to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Alex Gosselin lead off the inning with a single and went to second on a Saxon Lucia groundout before Nick Mazzola drew a walk to bring up No. 3 hitter Keith Mayte.

SHP thought it had Mazzola struck out, with the Gators coming off the field on a thinking it was a strikeout, but the umpire didn’t agree.

At first glance, it looked like a big pitch as Mazzola ultimately walk on the next pitch and two pitches later, Mayte laced a single to center.

But SHP centerfielder Afrrunti cut down Gosselin at the plate, with catcher Nico Pollioni applying a sweep tag for the final out of the inning, preserving the Gators’ 6-5 lead.

“Anytime you get an outfield assist, the boys can rally around it,” McMillan did.

The Gators kept the momentum from the bang-bang play to score two more in the bottom of the sixth with Durrett driving in Afrrunti, who had singled and went to third on a two-base error. The other run came in on a the second safety squeeze bunt, with Berta putting it down and Durrett scampering home.

“I loved the way we competed at the plate,” McMillan said. “We executed small ball.”

McMillan then turned to Affrunti to pitch the seventh and the senior struck out the side to notch his first save of the season.

Despite facing a guy in Covey who can pump up the speed, the Dons were ready for the challenge, getting to him twice in the top of the first inning. With one out, Mazzola singled, followed by a walk to Mayte to bring up cleanup hitter Sean Tam.

Tam offered at the first pitch, a swinging bunt that dribbled out in front of the plate that was thrown away by Covey at first, enabling Mazzola to score. A James Wright groundout drove in Mayte for the second run of the inning.

“Rallin struggled a bit,” McMillan said.

But the Gators got right back in the game with two runs in the bottom of the first. Pollioni jumped on the first pitch he saw for a single. He went to second on an Affrunti sacrifice bunt and scored on a Durrett double.

Durrett would score the tying run on a Colin Beim sacrifice fly, barely beating the throw and tag.

SHP moved ahead 4-2 with two runs in the bottom of the second, with Parker and Pollioni each driving in a run. But the Dons went back ahead in the top of the third, taking advantage of two Gators’ errors as Tam had the only RBI in the inning — which came on an error. The Dons scored three times to take a 5-4 lead.

Despite opening up a two-game lead against Aragon, San Mateo came into the week tied atop the Ocean Division standings with the Gators, so they’re not ready to take their foot off the gas.

“Technically, it’s still early. There is a lot of season left,” McMillan said. “Every game in league is super important.”