CANOVA – Howard used a pair of three-run innings to build a lead then held off a late rally to defeat Redfield 7-5 in high school baseball action Sunday afternoon.

Howard built a 7-1 lead through the first five innings. The host squad scored three times in the fourth, a pair coming across on an error, and then added three more runs in the fifth.

The Muskrats then mounted a comeback. Mason Whitely doubled in a run in the top of the sixth, and Redfield scored three times in the top of the seventh on run-scoring singles by Seth Siebrecht, Elliott Komraus, and Kevin Weller, but it wasn’t quite enough to catch Howard.

Siebrecht and Weller each had a pair of hits for the Muskrats, who finished with three more hits than Howard.

Luke Koepsell and Nolan Mentele each had two singles for Howard. Colby Claussen tossed four innings of two-hit baseball and struck out six batters.

Redfield, which slipped to 3-1 on the season, will host WIN (Warner-Ipswich-Northwestern) in a contest this evening.

Redfield 000 011 3 – 5 10 6

Howard 001 330 x – 7 7 5

Nolan Gall, Eli Morrissette (5) and Keaton Rohlfs; Colby Claussen, Luke Koepsell (5) and J. Neises, K. Shumaker. 2B – Redfield, Mason Whitley, Erik Salmen.