Players have taken the field for the business end of the season of the Mount Gambier and District Baseball League.

Tigers found themselves taking on South to kick start the second half of the season on Friday under lights on a warm night.

The South players were out to get the dream start and were fast out of the blocks with a two-run opening dig thanks to some young guys finding the middle of the bat.

This set the tone for the night in what would be a cracking game of baseball, as both teams wrestled back and forth for the lead and after the halfway point the score stood at three runs apiece.

It was a game that saw the league’s chief umpire Mick Summers step up to adjudicate due to a fierce rivalry and potentially some fireworks, but it would only be two passionate sides going head-to-head for bragging rights.

Tigers for the first time in five years saw a combined 1350 games of experience on the field with Kane Harrison 401*, Ben Marcus 399*, Karl Ransom 349* and Joey Sims 267* all in the starting nine – the band was back together.

After the seventh innings the game was flying, and was still tied at four runs each before a four run eighth innings saw Tigers take the lead out to a commanding four runs.

But another twist was brewing, and when Tigers starting pitcher Ransom’s pitch count expired, he had to lean on the under-worked Joe Sims returning from injury, and South had a sniff.

With loaded bases and two out, Tigers escaped, despite giving up three runs and won by the narrowest of margins to start the year in the win column.

Tigers’ Ransom picked up three hits, along with Harrison and Matt Thompson two apiece to go to the tally for the year.

For South it was Tarkyn Morale with two hits and several great plays at shortstop who was the standout for the Indians.

In the other Division one game it was ladder leaders Centrals taking on bottom placed Federals in a heat-shortened game.

It would be Centrals with Dylan Chuck on the mound defeating Federals 20-0 in a huge blowout victory.