The expected pitchers duel between Nansemond-Suffolk senior Nic Psimas and Greenbrier Christian senior JT Inskeep on Tuesday did not disappoint, but in the end, it was Psimas’ NSA Saints getting the win over the Gators of GCA.

Inskeep pitched into the fifth inning but allowed four runs for the Saints, with two coming on a Hyatt Hurst single in the first inning, two more coming on a Nic Morris double in the fifth, and finally Hurst with another RBI to seal the win for Nansemond in the top of the seventh.

Walks doomed the Gators, as each batter walked by GCA scored against an otherwise stellar defensive performance. Late in the sixth, it looked as if GCA could be mounting a comeback, with an RBI by senior Josh Stevens on a pop to CF, Hurst then added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning, with a 1 out RBI double.

Psimas pitched the entire game, allowing only two runs to GCA. “It feels good to win tonight, the whole night we had a good game, the defense really had my back,” Psimas said. “My job was just to throw strikes, get through batters, and just stay within myself.”

The big environment didn’t seem to change Psimas’ approach. “There's always a little bit of nerve going into it, but I had to do my best to keep it in check and get through the game,” the 6-foot-7 pitcher exclaimed.

Hurst caught the gem by Psimas, and accounted for three of the Saints’ five runs in the win.

“It feels like a good team win like we have a lot of momentum going,” Hurst proclaimed after the 5-2 win. “Our pitching was phenomenal, and on offense, we stuck to our plan.”

“I can’t describe it (the chemistry between Psimas and Hurst) I play with Nic in the summer and we have a good connection, it shows on the field, and on the mound.”

For manager Joey Seal, the win was big but something about it loomed even larger.

“One of the really neat things about tonight was that Nic had really struggled to finish games and get over that hump to throw a complete game like he is capable of, and tonight he was able to do it in a big spot,” Seal commented. “A lot can be said about the defense behind him also, we made a lot of really great plays in the field, it was a total team effort.”

“Nic did a great job on the mound and Hyatt called a really good game and those are little things, on the box score you are going to see Nic as the winning pitcher but there were nine other guys behind that kind of attributed to that that as a coach it's really fun to watch.”

Greenbrier Christian moves to 14-5 with the loss, and Nansemond-Suffolk improves to 10-4-1 with the win as the playoffs loom large and near.