AUBURN – The turnaround in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s intense KVAC tilt between Oxford Hills and Edward Little was the kind of jaw-dropper that leaves one team talking about running the table and the other wondering what else can go wrong.

EL reliever Adam Lutz walked the bases loaded to start the top of the sixth and was one pitch away from walking the go-ahead run home, yet somehow wiggled out of the jam. The Red Eddies took the momentum from that magic act and exploded for five runs in the bottom of the frame to break open what had been a see-saw affair at Pettengill Park and beat the Vikings for the second time this season, 9-4.

“I just had to dig deep and just try to relax and get back in my rhythm,” Lutz said. “I was getting a little frustrated because, in my opinion, I thought I was catching the corners.”

Cleanup hitter Cody Hadley hit the aforementioned 3-1 offering to short, and Mike Muise threw home to force the runner from third, Dan Millett. Nigel Cromwell then hit a fly ball to short left-center that Kyle Bussiere caught as he was coming in, forcing Ryan Yates to hold at third (a wise move, since Bussiere fired a strike to the plate). Justin Frechette then hit into a fielder’s choice at second to end the threat.

“I’ve never seen that happen. No matter what level, I’ve never seen walk the bases full and then get out of it like that,” EL coach Scott Annear said. “That was great defense and Lutzy stepping up and finding the strike zone.”

Bussiere, Eric Prue and Devin Flynn, who cracked three hits and drove in three runs to lead EL’s 11-hit attack, had RBI singles and Muise added a two-run triple in the bottom of the sixth.

Oxford Hills, meanwhile, stranded baserunners in every inning but the seventh, 11 overall.

“We’re going through a tough spell (but) I’m not disappointed,” said Oxford Hills coach Shane Slicer, whose team dropped to a surprising 4-6. “Their effort was excellent. It’s just little things happening.”

“The first inning was indicative,” he added. “We pounded the ball the first inning, and we got one run out of it.”

Indeed, the start of the game was rather foreboding for the Vikings. Along with a walk, Yates, Hadley and Cromwell all stroked hard singles, with Cromwell’s driving in Yates to make it 1-0. But with the bases loaded and one out, Frechette lined a rope right at Lutz at shortstop, who stepped on second to double-up Hadley and end the threat.

The Red Eddies (7-3) tied the game on Josh Mains’ ground out in the second, then took a 2-1 lead in the third on Flynn’s RBI single. The Vikings tied it on Yates’ RBI single in the fourth, then fell behind again when EL scored an unearned run without benefit of a hit in the bottom of the frame.

Oxford Hills did EL one better by scoring two runs without a hit in the fifth, but the Eddies tied it again on Flynn’s RBI double in the fifth.

“Coming out today, it was all good, positive energy,” Flynn said. “We’ve had problems with the negative energy. Now we’re looking to run the table.”