Gowanda catcher Blake Herman jumps on the back of pitcher Gavin Phillips as the rest of the Panthers converge in front of the pitching mound after the final out of the Section VI Class C baseball championship game in Portville on Saturday. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

PORTVILLE — Gavin Phillips struck out Portville’s final batter of the game with the bases loaded to preserve a 4-2 win for Gowanda in the Section VI Class C championship game Saturday afternoon.

John Ondus started for Gowanda and threw 5 2/3 innings of four-hit ball, striking out 11 while walking three and hitting two batters.

Phillips relieved with two runners on in the bottom of the sixth inning and walked the first man he faced before a strikeout left the bases loaded.

Then in the bottom of the seventh inning, Phillips allowed a leadoff single to Joe Long and a one-out single to Luke Petryszak. After a groundout, Phillips walked pinch-hitter Hayden Emley after a long bat-bat to move the would-be tying run to second base.

But Phillips struck out the next man he faced to clinch Gowanda’s first Section VI title since 2014.

Gowanda scored two runs in the top of the third inning thanks to an RBI double by Ondus and an error.

Portville made it 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Gowanda added a pair of runs in the fifth. Phillips led off with a single and went to second when Portville’s right fielder tried to throw Phillips out at first base. Blake Herman then laid down a sacrifice bunt and Portville threw the ball past first base for an error, allowing Phillips to score. With two outs later in the inning, Ondus singled to center field and eventually scored on an error.

Portville committed five errors in the inning, but Gowanda stranded two runners on base.

Portville made it 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, but left the bases loaded — the first of three consecutive times they would leave them loaded.

Without a senior on the roster, Gowanda will return its entire squad next year, but other Class C programs like Portville and Clymer/Sherman/Panama also have a majority of their rosters returning too.

Read complete story in Monday’s edition of the OBSERVER.