Times Observer photo by Scott Kindberg Jamestown’s Brandon McClain-Banks makes a throw to first in Friday’s PGCBL contest against Batavia at Diethrick Park in Jamestown, N.Y.

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — Asked what makes Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League West Division leader Batavia so tough to beat, Ryan Hill didn’t mince words.

“They have a ton of pitching and they just don’t make mistakes,” the Jamestown head coach said in his office Friday night. “They don’t give you anything for free. One through 10 in the lineup, any of those guys can beat you at any time. They have a lot of guys who can really play.”

Garrett Beaver (2-0), Michael Pedraza and Reed Marcum pitched five scoreless innings in relief, and Justin Espinal and TJ Morris added RBI singles in the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie to lead the Muckdogs to a 7-4 victory over the Tarp Skunks before a crowd of more than 2,000 at Diethrick Park on “Christmas in July Night,” courtesy of Collaborative Children’s Solutions.

The victory improved Batavia’s record to 33-8, while Jamestown fell to 19-24. The two teams will meet tonight at Dwyer Stadium and then square off again Monday, also at Batavia, in the one-game West Division semifinals. The Muckdogs are the No. 1 seed, while the Tarp Skunks are seeded fourth.

“We have to just play clean baseball and do what we know we’re capable of doing,” Hill said. “We have to have our guys bring their best stuff out. I know we have a good chance to win, because we’ve done it before and I’m confident in what we’ve got. We’re looking forward to it.”

Batavia opened the scoring last night with three runs in the second inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Yankiel Gonzalez. Jamestown tied the game with an unearned run in the second and two more in the third, courtesy of an RBI single by Zachary Kourous and a double steal.

After the Muckdogs took the lead with a run in the third, the Tarp Skunks tied it 4-4 on an RBI infield single by Nigel Sebastianelli.

But that was all Jamestown could muster offensively as Beaver, Pedraza and Marcum scattered five hits, struck out five and walked one.

Peyton Ahlstrom (0-2) took the loss in relief of starter Eli Shedd. Connor Kiefer worked the final three innings.

Morris led Batavia with three hits, Gonzalez added two hits and two RBIs and James Bolton drove in a pair of runs.

For the Tarp Skunks, Kourous (double), who was added to the roster a while ago, but wasn’t able to join the team until Thursday, had three hits.

“He’s playoff eligible,” Hill said of the Mercyhurst University product. “We’re looking forward to having him because he’s a stud.”

Brandon McCLain-Banks also had three hits, while Henry Juan and Kobe Jones (double) both collected two.

“A lot of those guys have been consistent for us all year,” Hill said. “They have the swing to do it and they came up big today.”

The attendance of more than 2,000 was the second largest of the season, eclipsed only by the Kids Day crowd on June 6 against Niagara Falls.

“That’s what makes this place really special,” Hill said. “That’s why all the players in this league look forward to coming here. The fans … that’s what makes this experience so great. They come out and make it a lot of fun, and it gives the players energy to play well.”

NOTES: Hill said he is likely to go with a “bullpen” to handle the pitching duties. … Jamestown concludes the regular season with a game at Elmira. … Hayden Givens-Craig will get the playoff start against Batavia on Monday, according to Hill. … … The final home game of the season included postgame fireworks.