The Collinsville High School baseball team started the season by reeling off six consecutive victories and winning nine of their first 11, but have found the win column in only one of their last six contests.

Ryan Hoffman / Photo by Roger Starkey

The Kahoks (10-7) loss to Breese Mater Dei (6-5) Wednesday at Fletcher Field, by a 3-2 score, was their third consecutive defeat.

Collinsville took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Aaron Oritz, who reached base in each of his three plate appearances, smacked a one-out double. Daniel Franke followed by reaching on an error that scored Ortiz.

A leadoff walk and an error contributed to a two-run top of the third inning, giving the Knights a 2-1 lead. Lucas Diemeke’s two-out, two-run double was the big blow in the inning.

The Kahoks had an opportunity to tie the game in the fifth when Tanner Houck hit a one-out, opposite-field double and advanced to third on an Ortiz single. However, when Collinsville missed a squeeze bunt, Houck forced a run-down that got Ortiz to third, but Mater Dei forced Houck back to third, where Ortiz was ruled out. The Kahoks could not get Houck home from third with two outs.

A leadoff Ryan Hoffman double in the fifth, followed by a Nick Chance sacrifice bunt gave Collinsville a runner at third and one out for the second time in two innings. This time they would not fail to knot the score. Mitch Reising drilled a line drive over the drawn-in infield for a 2-2 tie.

Houck and Ortiz combined to give Collinsville another good scoring opportunity in the sixth. Houck’s one-out double short-hopped the center field fence. Ortiz followed with a walk, but the next two batters flew out to left field.

Zach Deiters came into the game in the seventh inning and was the star. With two outs, he reached for a low and outside pitch from Collinsville starting pitcher Jacob Grzywacz and got just enough bat on it to dump it into right field for a single. Zach Hitpas scored on the play to give the Knights a 3-2 lead.

Deiters came on in relief of starting pitcher Chandler Haar in the seventh and retired the Kahoks in order to get the save.

Collinsville travels to Belleville West Thursday for 4:30 game.