So many times this season, the Delphi baseball team has played in close ballgames, only to become victimized by one big inning that leads to a defeat.

It played out again Thursday night, only this time it was while hosting the Class 2A Sectional opener against Fountain Central, an 8-4 defeat that ended the season for the Oracles.

In a game that featured excellent defense to support some great pitching, Delphi and Fountain Central had battled tooth, nail and claw to a 1-0 Oracle lead after five complete innings.

Each starting pitcher had allowed only two hits to that point, and the lone run of the game was a manufactured one in the bottom of the 2nd inning as Karson Bender ledoff with a hit, stole second base and advanced to third on an errant throw from the catcher, then scored on Neil Snoeberger's grounder to second.

It was all either team could produce off of starting hurlers Austin Hawn and Brent Nelson, until the 6th inning. It started, innocently enough, with a single to left from the Mustang's #9 hitter Trent Spear, giving Fountain Central its third hit of the game.

Then, per game plan, once the starter got into trouble in the latter innings, the Oracles would go to the bullpen for a fresh arm to thwart any potential rally - nothing wrong with the logic, it just did not work this time.

After a couple of infield misreads on where to throw on a sacrifice bunt and a footrace to second base on a grounder in the hole resulted in a safe call, the Mustangs were now threatening with bases loaded and no outs.

Five hits and a walk later, and suddenly Fountain Central had scored seven runs after sending 12 batters to the plate during the inning to take a commanding 7-1 lead.

Delphi did respond back with three runs in the bottom of the 6th on four hits, including a 2-run double from Shane Hyman, a double from Andrew Flora, an RBI single from Bender, and a single by Hawn. But it was not enough as the Mustangs tacked on an insurance run in their last at-bat for the final margin.

The Oracles finished with seven hits to Fountain Central's eight and committed three errors to FC's two.

Bender and Hyman finished with two hits apiece to lead Delphi, with Tanner Cripe adding a hit in the final inning to keep it interesting.

Hawn allowed only three hits and struck out three in five innings of work on the mound, while Nelson (8-0) went the distance to earn the win.

Delphi finishes the season at 14-15, but loses only two seniors to graduation from a relatively young team.

The Mustangs (19-8) advance to face Carroll in the semi-final, which was originally scheduled for Monday night but was changed to Tuesday (too late for print) due to weather. The semifinal winners advance to the Sectional 37 championship game, now set for Wednesday at 6 p.m.