READFIELD -- The difference between the top two teams in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference's Class B division turned out to be a couple of feet Monday.

Two more feet to the left or right and Donnie Cray's throw from center wouldn't have nailed Maranacook's Mike Brennan at home plate for the second out in the bottom of the seventh. But the throw and the tag by catcher Alex Wheelock were on the mark and helped preserve a 7-6 win for Gardiner.

This one appeared headed for a rout after the Tigers scored four runs in the top of the first inning off Maranacook starter Travis Harwood. But the senior right-hander settled down after that and his teammates chipped away at Gardiner sophomore Forrest Chadwick.

"Good teams are going to battle back," Gardiner coach Jim Palmer. "That's what we expected from them, to keep battling."

Both pitchers competed as well, each finishing the game and escaping trouble throughout. Harwood (3-1) gave up 11 hits, walked three -- two of those intentional passes to Kyle Stilphen -- and struck out six while throwing 118 pitches.

Chadwick (3-0) gave up 13 hits, struck out six and didn't walk a batter while throwing 120 pitches.

"I thought he was throwing good," Wheelock said of Chadwick. "He was hitting a lot of his spots. They're just a good hitting team and adjusted to where he was throwing it."

The Tigers (8-1) took a 5-0 lead in the top of the second when Stilphen was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Roland Kennerson's double. The Black Bears (7-2) never took the lead, but got close by scoring three in the second inning and one in the third to make it 5-4.

The top five players in Gardiner's batting order -- Mike Abbott, Chadwick, Stilphen, Kennerson and Wheelock -- accounted for all seven runs and all but four hits.

Maranacook got its production primarily from the middle to the bottom of the order, led by Brennan with three runs and three hits in the No. 5 spot. Mike Rankin, batting seventh, also had three hits and drove in three runs while David Clough accounted for run, a hit and an RBI. No. 3 hitter Ryan Martin added three singles, all with two out.

"It's the best game we've played after that first half inning," Maranacook coach Don Plourde said.

Trailing 7-5, Maranacook nearly tied the game in the final inning. Eric Ogren led off with a single, advanced to second on Brennan's third hit of the game and both runners moved up on Clough's sacrifice bunt.

Rankin followed with a single to center, Cray charged the ball and threw the ball to Wheelock on the fly, slightly up the third base line.

"I saw the throw coming in and my peripheral vision I saw the runner so I knew it was going to be close," Wheelock said. "I knew I was going to have to make a sweep tag to the outside, I got it on him and I showed the umpire the ball. He made a good call on that."

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com