Trailing 11-2 after six and a half innings, any chance of Block hosting a first-round playoff game seemed all but over.

But after scoring seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and with two runners on, the Bears had renewed hope. Unfortunately, those two runners were left stranded and the LaSalle Tigers held on for an 11-9 win Monday night.

Block and LaSalle finished with identical 7-3 records in District 3-1A, so a tiebreaker game had to be played to determine which team would finish in second and third place in the district.

Both the Tigers and the Bears scored one run in the first inning and the score remained 1-1 until the top of the fourth inning when LaSalle, the visiting team score five runs to take a 6-1 lead.

LaSalle (14-11) kept the pressure on Block (13-14) by scoring three more runs in the top of the fifth while the Bears could only muster one run in the bottom of the fifth. The Tigers then scored two runs in the top of the sixth and appeared to have had the game well in hand with an 11-2 lead.

But Block wouldn’t go away quietly. After being held to just two hits through the first six innings, the Bears’ bats came alive to the tune of five hits, including a two-run double by Casey Ryan and a three-run triple by Ethan Trisler.

But with two on and two out, Block was unable to come up with the key hit to keep the rally going. Trisler went 2-for-5 and Ryan was 2-for-4.

With the loss, Block will have the unenviable task of going to Monroe to take on District 2-1A champion and third-ranked St. Frederick in the bi-district round of the Class 1A playoffs Thursday at 6 p.m.