Gershkoff/Auburn Post 20 had more hits than Gordon Greene Post 27. Gershkoff had more baserunners, more extra-base hits and more defensive strikeouts. Gershkoff outplayed Gordon Greene in nearly every aspect of Monday night’s American Legion game.

Except on the scoreboard.

Gordon Greene used a four-run sixth inning to take a 7-2 lead and, despite a two-out Gershkoff rally in the seventh, held on for the 7-5 win.

“We don’t like losing, but the kids played really well,” Gershkoff manager Dave Schiappa said. “I was very happy with how we played in this game. We did everything right but we just ended up being on the short end of it. We came back towards the end; there is no giving up on this team.”

Gershkoff’s seventh-inning rally almost proved to be enough. The team trailed by five going into its final at-bats when Matt Clarkin grounded a one-out single back up the middle and, after a strikeout by Shane O’Connell, scored on a two-out double by Dan Hopkins. Hopkins moved to third on a single from Mike Saccoccio and both runners scored on a seeing-eye single from Jeff Diehl, making the score 7-5.

With Diehl on first, Steve Beneduce stepped in representing the tying run. He worked the count full against Gordon Greene relief pitcher Chris Anderson, before swinging over the top of a 3-2 pitch to end the game.

“I was excited by how the kids came back,” Schiappa said. “We’re a younger team and we knew going in that Gordon Greene was a veteran club with five or six older guys. We’ve already beaten some veteran teams but we also know that there are going to be some nights when we lose to them too.”

Hopkins, in just his second start of the Legion season, did all he could to keep Gershkoff in contention. He allowed five hits in five innings of work, striking out 10 and walking just one. Hopkins only allowed eight baserunners in the game, but seven of those eight scored.

“Hopkins hadn’t pitched all year but he came back and has pitched great for us,” Schiappa said. “He beat West Warwick in his first start and then pitched very well again tonight. When he strikes out 10 and we’re not able to win, it shows that we need to give him a little more run support.”

Gordon Greene scored two in the first on a hit batsman and a pair of doubles, but Hopkins settled in from there. Gershkoff tied the score in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run home run from O’Connell before Gordon Greene reclaimed the lead at 3-2 when John Jacobelus led off the third with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Newell.

Post 27 broke it open in the sixth when Newell led off with a double and Ben Rice reached on an error. Hopkins loaded the bases when he walked Andy Devereaux before a two-run single to Vinny Federico chased him from the mound.

Dan Muncy came on in relief, allowing two inherited runners to score on a single, but he got out of the inning without further damage. Anthony Pagano pitched a scoreless seventh to close out the game for Gershkoff.

“I’m excited about those guys,” Schiappa said. “Muncy has been solid in three appearances; he came into a tough spot tonight and really did well. And Pagano has pitched well in two appearances after playing JV all season. We have a lot of relief pitching and a lot of depth, but we’re still trying to figure out who can do what.”

The coming weeks will provide Gershkoff with plenty of chances to find the right fit. After battling an up-and-down schedule for the first few weeks of the season, Gershkoff’s schedule is about to kick into high gear. The team will travel to Oneonta, N.Y. for a tournament this weekend and, once they return to Rhode Island, will be in action nearly every day through the end of the regular season.

“With all the rain we’ve had so far, we really haven’t been able to figure things out,” Schiappa said. “But going to New York this weekend will really help solidify our plans for the remainder of the season. Everyone will get a chance to pitch and play different positions, which is huge for us. Then we’ll come back and try to get everything back on track. We want to finish strong and try to get home field for the playoffs.”