Senior Mason Mayfield had a strong outing for Retif Oil on Saturday, giving up two runs in six innings.

On Saturday morning at John Ryan Stadium, Retif Oil got another stellar performance from a starting pitcher. Unfortunately, so did Post 19 (Columbia, Tennessee).

On Day Two of their road trip, the visitors from the Volunteer State put a lefty on the mound (again), kept him there the entire game (again), and walked away with a victory less than 90 minutes later (again). 

Things looked like they might go differently early on. Retif broke through in the second inning when Ben Hess walked and Trent Forshag followed with his team’s first hit of the two-game series. Hayden Fuentes then beat out the throw on an attempted double play, allowing Hess to score and giving Retif a 1-0 lead.

Meanwhile, senior Mason Mayfield was cruising along on the mound. But for the second straight day, the sixth inning ended up being Retif’s undoing. Yesterday, it was errors that doomed the Jays; today, it was timely hitting.

With a runner on second and nobody out, Mayfield forced a pop-up on a bunt and struck out the next batter. For a moment, it looked like he’d be able to work his way out of the jam. But Columbia’s clean-up hitter proved worthy of that designation, blasting a two-out triple to right center to tie the game. Columbia followed that up with a single up the middle to take a 2-1 lead.

The versatile Brandon Briuglio, who pitched superbly on Friday, spent Saturday at second base.

Retif then stranded Jake Licciardi, who had singled and advanced on a passed ball, on second base in the bottom of the frame.

In the seventh and final inning, reliever Connor Maginnis held the deficit at one run, allowing one last chance for his teammates to break through.

And they almost did. Fuentes opened with a single. Columbia’s pitcher retired the next two batters before hitting Nick Ray with a pitch. Fuentes then advanced to third on a passed ball. But a strike-out ended the game.

With the loss, Retif falls to 1-4 on the season. Columbia improved to 3-0.

Next up for Retif is Holy Cross-based Ponstein’s. Game time is 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 8, at Kirsch Rooney Stadium on the Delgado Community College campus.