On a night where star Bishop Verot pitcher Hudson Boyd was not quite at his unhittable best, it was his bat that saved the day.

Boyd’s two-run single in the fifth inning provided the winning runs as the Vikings avenged their loss in last year’s District 3A-12 tournament with a 3-2 win over Island Coast Friday night at Bishop Verot.

The hit also gave him his ninth win of the season on the mound without a defeat.

“I was just looking for a good pitch and a good swing. I was pretty fortunate,” Boyd said.

After the Gators (20-6) took the lead 2-1 in the top of the fifth, the Vikings responded in a rather unusual inning.

Third baseman Evan Dougherty led off with a single off Gator reliever Kyle Harding. Josh Garcia’s foul bunt was caught by third baseman Jordan Moody, but Dougherty was awarded second because Moody ran into the Verot dugout after the catch and ruled out of play.

Thomas Dougherty then singled, but Evan was cut down at the plate by a perfect throw from second baseman Cole Ondrejka.

After Dan Vogelbach and Nick Rivera walked to load the bases, Boyd lined a two-run single for what would be the winning runs.

Keith Ryan pitched two innings for the Vikings (26-4) to earn the save as the Gators put the tying run in scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings, but couldn’t score.

“It’s a tough loss to swallow because you’re knocking on the door and when you’re so close, you want to grab it, too,” said Island Coast coach Clinton Montgomery.

Gators starter Pablo Matos went four innings, allowing six hits, an unearned run and a walk. He also got out of two bases- loaded jams with two inning-ending double plays in the third and fourth.

Matos got the lead and a shot at the win in the fifth. Nelson Candelario and Kameron Gellinger started with singles. Taylor Renegar bunted, but Evan Dougherty bounced the throw to third for an error.

After Ondrejka tied the game with an RBI grounder, Chase Vogelbach was robbed on a diving catch by Thomas Dougherty in center field.

Moody gave Island Coast a 2-1 lead with a base hit up the middle to score Gellinger.

“They’re a good hitting team. Most of their hits found holes. That’s baseball,” Boyd said. “We limited the damage in that inning and kept it close enough to get some runs.”

The Vikings took the lead in the first on a Garcia single, a throwing error by Matos, a Thomas Dougherty ground ball and a Dan Vogelbach sacrifice fly.

Boyd pitched five innings and allowed six hits and two walks with six strikeouts to go along with his two hits. Frank Romano also had a pair of hits for the Vikings.

Randy Petito had two hits for Island Coast, which had four sacrifices on the night.

“The last two years every game we’ve played has come down to the wire. Tonight was no different,” Bishop Verot coach Tom Losauro said. “This win will hopefully get us home field and a chance to host more games.”

Island Coast 000 020 0 2 7 1

Bishop Verot 100 020 x 3 9 1

W – Boyd (9-0). L – Harding (2-1).

2B – Taylor Renegar (IC).