For five innings, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox looked like a team stuck in a losing streak. Six outs later, they looked like themselves again.

"We were hitting fly balls, giving them non-competitive at-bats," assistant coach Craig Gianinno said. "It was frustrating to watch guys take lazy swings and hit lazy fly balls. There's no errors in the sky. Make them play catch."

With only a seven-inning game because of a scheduled doubleheader, Y-D found itself trailing 6-2 with just six outs to work with.

Every coach and player on Y-D preaches keeping things simple. No one represents Y-D's simple approach better than Mateo Serna (Alabama). The Crimson Tide catcher opened the sixth inning with a double, and Gianinno immediately sensed the momentum shifting.

"Serna started it," Gianinno said. "He's been there for us countless times when we needed him the most."

Y-D certainly did.

Serna's leadoff double ignited a five-run sixth inning as the Red Sox rallied from four runs down to defeat Orleans 9-6 Friday afternoon.

Dante Vachini (Cal Poly) tied the game at 6-6 with a line-drive double to right field. Jayce Tharnish (Kentucky) followed with the go-ahead RBI single before Ryder Robinson (BYU) ripped a triple into the right-field corner for an insurance run. Tommy Goodin (Vanderbilt) capped the inning with an RBI groundout.

Kevin Takeuchi (Southern California) also added a triple later in the inning, giving Y-D two triples in one frame after entering the day with only two all season.

Robinson's confidence will become a major factor as the postseason approaches, said Gianinno.

"The guys that are successful are the guys that come here with a ton of confidence, and Ryder has that," Gianinno said. "He has a plan for his approach, and he's got intelligence with maturity. He's going to be huge for us."

Y-D struck first in the opening inning. Goodin singled before a pair of Orleans defensive miscues moved him and Takeuchi into scoring position. Armando Briseño (Cal State Fullerton) drove them both home with a two-run double on a low breaking ball to the opposite field. The lead disappeared quickly.

After two scoreless innings, starter Zach Robinson (Cincinnati) ran into trouble in the third. Robinson surrendered two hits, hit a batter and misplayed a chopper back to the mound as Orleans scored twice. Joe O'Regan finished the inning with a strikeout, but not before the Firebirds added two more runs on consecutive hits; Casey Cumiskey (SNHU) extended the lead to 6-2 with a two-run homer in the fifth.

For Y-D, the comeback actually began an inning earlier.

With two outs and nobody on in the fifth, Tharnish and Robinson delivered back-to-back singles to bring Goodin to the plate. Goodin skied an 86 mph off-speed pitch to left field, where Orleans left fielder Adam Magpoc (SDSU) lost the ball in the sun, as the ball hung in the air for 6.1 seconds. Two runs scored on the play, cutting the deficit to two and setting the stage for Y-D's explosive sixth inning.

Tag Andrews (Little Rock) slammed the door, needing just 28 pitches for 22 strikes to record the final six outs for his save. His ERA dropped to 1.35 through six innings with Y-D.

"Tag looked really good out there," pitching coach Eric Beattie said. "It took him about three pitches to get dialed in, and then once he got dialed in and took that good deep breath on the mound, he couldn't miss."

With the win, Y-D now sits four points ahead of Brewster. The two teams face off as you're reading this, so check back on more coverage from Y-D content writer Martha Brennan.