Fans braving scattered rainfall. Pitchers getting quick hooks. Hitters scraping for every base. Eldridge park had all the feels of playoff baseball Friday night.

Down 2-1 in the ninth inning, the Orleans Firebirds put two men in scoring position against Harwich Mariner reliever Christian Rodriguez. After a walk and then a sac bunt that went for a hit, all the momentum turned in Orleans’ favor.

With the game at stake, pitching coach Hunter Dilworth made a visit to the mound to settle Rodriguez.

“He just said I got it. He said slow down a little bit,” the Florida Gator said. “Gave me a little bit of a breather.”

With the chance to mentally reset, Rodriguez locked in. Apart from an intentional walk, the Florida Gator struck out three of his next four batters.

After ripping a fastball by Anthony Potestio for the final out, Rodriguez turned to his dugout and screamed.

“I was fired up. My first thought was ‘Let’s go,’” he said. “I let out a little bit of yell but I thought it was pretty reasonable.”

Thanks to the one-run victory, the Mariners set a new season-high with four straight wins. Harwich won its previous two games by double-digits. It remains tied for first with Y-D in the Eastern Division with seven games to go.

Much like the last two victories, Harwich jumped out to an early lead.

Aiden Robbins continues to show fans why he was an all-star. After a Niko Brini double, Robbins launched an opposite field home run off pitcher JT Rabb.

It was the second straight game with a home run for Robbins, who is now tied for second in the league with six. The Texas transfer added a single later in the game to raise his average to .312.

“Electric. That was a grinder win,” Robbins said. “All wins feel great, but especially against a crosstown rival.”

Unlike the last two games, it would be the only offense Harwich mustered for the game.

The Firebirds hold just a three-point lead over Chatham for the final playoff in the East. As every game down the stretch is crucial, Orleans manager Kelly Nichols isn’t taking chances. He used six pitchers in the game, often switching arms to get the Firebirds out of a jam.

Before the ninth, the Firebirds' best chance to break the game open came in the fourth inning against pitcher Olin Johnson.

Orleans loaded the bases with one out with first baseman Dawson Bryce at the plate. Bryce hit a deep fly ball that sent Brini back to the center field wall.

The speedy centerfield made the catch on the run just short of the wall. While the Orleans got a run, the Mariners were happy to get the out. After a Javar Williams bunt single, the Firebird loaded the bases again, putting the Mariner lead in jeopardy.

Instead, Johnson got Michael Crossland to whiff on a full-count pitch on the outer half of the plate to end the inning.

The entire Mariner bench was ecstatic, as the UNC Tar Heel walked off the mound with the lead intact. Johnson gave up four hits, walked one, and struck out three Firebirds.

After Tyler Muscar pitched a scoreless inning in his Mariner debut, the ball got handed to Scott Doran.

The pitcher from Coastal Carolina easily put together his best outing of the summer. He went three scoreless innings while striking out five batters. After a week of working on his curveball with the pitching staff, he finally got to see results.

“I had my curveball working with me,” he said. “Just being able to throw things for a strike. Things go well when you can do that.”

Moving forward:

The Mariners (17-12-3) hope to keep the show going as they head to Brewster to take on the Whitecaps (17-14-1). First pitch is at 4:00 p.m. from Stony Brook Field.