POTTSVILLE — It doesn’t always have to be pretty, but a win is a win.

Minersville, like many teams in the Schuylkill League, will take one any way it can get it.

In a back-and-forth, extra-inning battle filled with momentum swings, key at-bats, miscues and even late drama, the Battlin’ Miners held off Nativity for an 8-7 victory in a Schuylkill League Division II baseball game Tuesday atop Lawton’s Hill, using a three-run ninth inning to finally gain separation in a game that never truly felt secure.

“Any win is a good win,” Minersville coach Shane Spotts said. “(Nativity) had us defensively, but boy did Nolan Plesnarski have a great start. He attacked hitters, and that’s the kind of moxie senior he is. Next pitch, next pitch, because the wheels fell off there for a bit, but because of him, we stayed in that game.”

Jayce Rizzardi was right in the middle of everything offensively for Minersville (6-6, 5-4 D-II), finishing 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. The junior delivered multiple quality at-bats, setting the tone for an offense that scratched and clawed for production throughout the afternoon.

He wasn’t alone, either. Plesnarski and Cam Rogers each added two hits, while Jason Correll drove in two runs and Aidan Ryan chipped in an RBI as Minersville piled up 12 hits.

The Miners looked to be in firm control early. Colby Leshko started things with a double in the second inning that scored Ryan on a miscue in the field, and Minersville tacked on three more in the third behind Plesnarski’s run-scoring double and Correll’s two-run single.

With a 5-0 lead, it appeared the visitors had created enough breathing room.

But in the iconic words of coach Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.”

Nativity (3-11, 3-6), as it has done all season, refused to go away. The Hilltoppers chipped into the deficit and eventually broke through in the seventh, stringing together timely hits and capitalizing on Minersville’s ill-timed miscues. Ryan Examitas delivered a key two-run double to help tie the game at 5-5, and suddenly all the early momentum had vanished.

Poof.

Nativity had a chance to end it right there. Examitas moved to third on a wild pitch, putting the winning run 90 feet from home. Marc Lutzkanin hit a one-out dribbler to the right side, but Minersville shortstop Garrett Sukeena charged and made a sharp throw home, where Ryan applied the tag to prevent the walk-off.

Suddenly, the momentum was swirling.

That set the stage for the ninth, where Minersville once again leaned on its most reliable bats on the day. Rizzardi delivered the go-ahead hit to ignite the rally, Correll followed with another RBI single, and Ryan added an insurance run on a fielder’s choice to push the lead to 8-5.

“In extra innings, the kids battled with two strikes,” Spotts said. “Especially with the bases loaded and things like that. Jayce did a great job with two strikes just putting the ball in play. You put the ball in play in high school baseball — good things happen. And the kids stayed at it. It was not the prettiest of wins, you’re not going to draw it up like that any day of the week for sure, but the kids did a great job staying at it, in spite of themselves a little bit.”

Even then, it wasn’t over. Nativity answered with two runs in the bottom half and put the tying run on base, applying pressure one final time.

After back-to-back walks to start things off, Rogers took over in relief on the rubber for the Battlin’ Miners. He struck out the first batter he faced before Marc Lutzkanin had an RBI groundout to cut the Miners’ lead to 8-6 with two away. Ryan Grabowski added an RBI single to score Stephen Karinch and trim the deficit to one.

Tommy Bartashus and Cash Kalkiewicz worked back-to-back, five-pitch walks to load the bases and bring the drama and tension to an absolute high.

But Rogers slammed the door on the hill for the Miners, working through traffic and recording an exclamation-point strikeout to end the game.

On the mound, Plesnarski gave Minersville a steady start, going seven innings while allowing five runs — just one earned — and striking out five without issuing a walk. Luke Toth picked up the win in relief and struck out a pair before handing things off to Rogers for the save.

“Things got a little bit exciting, but Luke did a great job of throwing strikes in the eighth,” Spotts said. “And then Cam, coming in cold, he didn’t even warm up. He’s a guy who’s been around, and he threw well there in the ninth.”

The Hilltoppers showed plenty of fight in the loss. Karinch collected two hits and scored twice, Examitas drove in two runs, and Trey Keating added a hit, a run and two stolen bases as Nativity stayed aggressive and competitive throughout.