MUSKEGON – Trevor Rusnak was battling the Spring Lake pitcher and mother nature in the seventh and final inning on Friday night.

His Fruitport baseball team was tied with archrival and state-ranked Spring Lake 3-3 with two outs, and runners on first and second.

Rusnak kept fouling away pitches, prolonging the nervous at-bat. In the sky, black storm clouds swirled over the field and lightning was everywhere on the horizon. The rain could have come at any moment, potentially stopping the game before Rusnak was even done.

But the rain somehow held up and Rusnak stayed focused, then got his pitch and drilled a line-drive double all the way to the center field fence, scoring both runners.

A few minutes later Fruitport pitcher Ryan Bosch snared a line drive from a Spring Lake batter for the final out, and the Trojans rode off with a thrilling 5-3 come-from-behind victory at Muskegon’s Marsh Field, extending their winning streak to 13 straight games.

It was the second big win of the week for the Trojans, who also beat a very good Hamilton squad 4-1 on Wednesday at LMCU Ballpark, the home of the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Fruitport, ranked 14th in the state in Division 2, is now 24-1 on the season. Spring Lake, ranked seventh in Division 2, fell to 25-3.

“Honestly, it was kind of hard to see the ball coming out of his hand, because of the dark clouds, and the ball was pretty dirty by that point,” Rusnak said. “But I told myself that I had to put the ball in play somehow.

“The pitch was low and in, and I’m a big fan of those pitches. I knew I could drive it and lift it off the ground and get those runs in.”

Rusnak said the victory demonstrated how good the Trojans really are, against a top-notch opponent.

“This whole year, all we’ve heard is that ‘you guys haven’t played much competition,’ because of the conference we play in, but now we can get those people to quiet down,” he said. “We came through and beat Spring Lake, which we knew we could do.”

The win also provided some nice revenge for the Trojans, who lost three times to the Lakers last year, when both there members of the O-K Blue conference.

“That was a great, great game!” said Fruitport Coach Nick Reed. “The guys all kept their cool. Spring Lake took three close games from us last season, but the boys have kept working hard, and it all accumulated at the end. This was the result!”

The victory was extra exciting for the Trojans because they had to stay calm, and overcome some real frustration, to rally get it done.

The tough moments started in the top of the sixth inning, with the game tied 1-1. Fruitport’s Dexter Lillmars led off with a walk, but was picked off first base. Then Rusnak walked, Hudson Hazekamp hit into a force at second base, and Satchel Norwood singled, giving the Trojans runners at first and third with two outs.

But it all went wrong when Norwood broke for second base as a decoy, hoping to draw a throw that would allow Hazekamp, the runner at third, to score. But Spring Lake’s pitcher threw to third and Hazekamp was tagged out as he tried to return, ending the threat.

“We just got caught in a bad spot,” Reed said.

Things got even darker for the Trojans in the bottom of the sixth when the Lakers managed to score twice without hitting the ball very hard at all.

Spring Lake loaded the bases with a walk, a bunt that was mishandled by Fruitport, and a dribbler that rolled just far enough to the right of the pitcher’s mound to allow an infield single.

The next Laker batter hit a grounder to second base, the throw went to the plate, but the runner was safe, giving Spring Lake a 2-1 lead. Then Owen Smies added an RBI sacrifice fly, and suddenly Spring Lake led by two runs and only needed three outs to win.

But that win never came, because the Trojans never gave up, even with dust flying around the infield from the strong winds that were blowing the storm in.

Jax Flynn started things off in the seventh with a one-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Bosch drove him in with an RBI single, making the score 3-2.

Tommy Anderson followed with a walk, giving the Trojans runners at second and third with one out. Avery Lambers struck out, then Lillmars delivered an RBI single to tie the game at 3-3.

That brought up Rusnak, who delivered the winning runs with his blast to center field.

“Trevor and I talk all time about how he’s probably an even better hitter with two strikes,” Reed said. “He fouled away pitch after pitch, then he just rifled it. That was a huge shot!”

The final rally was actually the second of the night for the Trojans.

The game was tied 0-0 through three and a half innings, before the Lakers scored a run on an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fourth.

Bosch, who pitched the win for the Trojans, made up for that in the top of the fifth when he drove in Braxton Ward with an RBI double, tying the game at 1-1.

Reed said the multiple comebacks were a credit to the leaders of the team, who kept everyone calm when the game was going badly.

“They gathered the troops and said ‘We’re not done yet. We still have a chance,'” Reed said. “And our guys did not quit or put their heads down.”

Bosch pitched brilliantly for the Trojans, going all seven innings while allowing two hits, three walks and striking out eight.

He was extra tough in the bottom of the seventh, after the Trojans had taken the lead. He walked the first batter, then struck out two before catching a line drive to the mound to end the game.

“He pitched phenomenal,” Reed said. “He was in the zone all night. He got a little tired at the end and walked a couple guys, but he still wanted the ball. He knew he had to close it out.”