Photo by Samantha Davis. Marshall A second baseman Dillon Loft throws the baseball to first base against the Milroy Yankees Sunday night in a Corn Belt League game at Yankee Field. The A's defeated the Yankees 9-3.

MILROY — Despite fighting defensive struggles and facing a deficit for five innings, Mitchell Bouwman’s 15 strikeouts and Connor Neubeck’s three-run RBI double in the eighth inning helped the Marshall A’s to a 9-3 win over the Milroy Yankees in a Corn Belt League game Sunday night. The A’s embarked on an eight-run eighth inning to power the comeback.

“We went through a tough stretch there, but with the consistency with the same guys showing up every time, it’s been good for us this year,” A’s manager Ryan Schwagel said. “A lot of young guys are getting a lot of playing time too, and we’ve just been gelling pretty good here going into the heat of the summer. We just gotta keep it rolling.”

The Yankees scored one run in the first and another two in the bottom of the fifth for a 3-0 lead, but Milroy encountered late pitching struggles that allowed Marshall to get ahead and take control of the game.

“The first five innings, I thought we played a very clean baseball game. Through the nine innings, we did not have any errors, which was clean,” Milroy’s Aaron Mathiowetz said. “But, once we got to the sixth inning … We get gave up eight runs on three hits, which is not ideal by any means … Just gotta clean some of those things up, but we were in the game for most of it. It’s still early in the year.”

The A’s had five errors on the night, most of which came in the opening innings, while Milroy had a clean-slate. Both teams recorded seven hits.

“We have a lot of young guys and we’ve been making a lot of errors lately, but I think that helps us, to be honest,” Neubeck said. “We didn’t get too upset about it, we just kept playing and we knew we could fight back in.”

Along with his 15 strikeouts, Bouwman finished with three walks and one earned run.

“Mitchell just kept pounding on the strike zone for us,” Schwagel said. “Ultimately, that’s what comes down to, is good pitching and good hitting.”

For the Yankees, Isaac Schmitt threw the first 5 1/3 innings for eight strikeouts with five walks, two hits and six earned runs.

Austin Deutz relieved for 1 1/3 innings for a pair of strikeouts while allowing three walks, two hits and three earned runs, while Zach Nuy finished the final two innings for four strikeouts, three hits and one walk.

Marshall had bases loaded for a large part of its sixth-inning surge, going through its batting lineup.

Josh Kraft stole home off a wild pitch, while Liam Kruse was given home from third off a hit-by-pitch on Dillon Loft. Wes Sarsland and Braxton Koster also scored off walks.

“I think it was important in the first three to five innings that we battled with Schmitt and got him out the game early,” Neubeck said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the league.”

Schwagel scored Marshall’s first run of the day off a Sarsland RBI single with a grounder to right field.

Neubeck stepped up to the plate with two hits and sent the ball to deep left center field with an RBI double to clear the bases, sending home Schwagel, AJ Toulouse and Loft, which gave the A’s an 8-3 advantage.

“I knew the bases were loaded and I had to do something,” Neubeck said. “If it [the pitch] was anywhere near the zone, I was trying to put it in the gap. I guess it just worked out.”

Marshall scored one more run in the seventh, with Kruse scoring off a Loft RBI single to right field. Kruse was initially put on base with a hit-by-pitch.

The Yankees came out aggressive to start the game and took advantage of Marshall’s four defensive errors in the first inning, and took a 1-0 prompt lead from Andy Schmidt scoring off an Alex Schuh base hit.

Milroy got bases loaded following the run, yet a Bouwman strikeout finished the inning.

“Credit to Marshall … Mitch did a fantastic job of keeping them in it,” Mathiowetz said. “Once a [Marshall] error happened, it usually was only one base error, and then you usually get the next guy out. Credit to him for keeping the damage limited.”

Loft also had a good night defensively and was responsible for a pair of double plays, one each in the second and eighth inning. On both occasions, he fielded a ground ball at second base with a runner on first, for two force outs at first and second.

“Flashing the leather. It’s good to see him [Loft] doing it,” Schwagel said of Loft’s defensive performance. “He’s just a veteran in there making plays, and that’s what we needed at the time.”

Milroy’s two fifth-inning runs came off one hit and two Marshall errors.

Nathan Deutz and Braden Flock accounted for the pair of runs from a Mathiowetz RBI single and Schuh RBI double to right center field, respectively.

The Yankees ultimately were held scoreless the final four innings while Bouwman continued to control the mound efficiently.

In the bottom of the ninth in Milroy’s final at-bat, Bouwman threw a pair of strikeouts and fielded a hit for a force at first, completing the A’s comeback.

“When the games start like that and you’re kicking the ball around a little bit, you just [have to] show some resiliency and stay in the game,” Schwagel said. “Down early like that … We kept the pedal to the metal and had some good at-bats, and it’s what you have to do in amateur baseball.”

Neubeck led Marshall’s offense with three RBIs off his one hit, while Schwagel and Kruse each had a team-high two runs.

Mathiowetz finished with two hits and one RBI to power the Yankees offensively, and Schmidt led with two runs.

The Yankees (2-7) remain at home and will host Hadley on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. first pitch.

“We got a young team … Just really trying to get a feel, and still early in the year,” Mathiowetz said. “Trying to still figure out a lineup. Guys have other commitments, too, so getting guys at-bats and just really trying to get it figured out for once playoffs come in July.”

Marshall moves above .500 with a 4-3 start to the season, and will look for its third straight win when it travels on the road for the second of a five-game road trip at Sacred Heart on Wednesday at 1 p.m.

“This is honestly a pretty close group of guys. Everyone gets along here,” Neubeck said. “The games are a lot of fun, it’s always been tight.”