In Monday night’s 13-15 year-old season opener at the Jonathan D. Hollingsworth Memorial Babe Ruth Park in Lewisburg, the longtime league participants Nichirin took on the newly formed Red Birds, one of the two Columbia squads in the division this season.

Nichirin came away with a close 4-2 win, scoring three first inning runs that held up for winning pitcher Trey Warner, who tossed the first three innings before Colton Fink came on for the save.

Warner gave two runs on two hits, while striking out five and walking two.

Fink gave up one hit, struck out four and walked three in two scoreless frames as the game ended on the 1:45 time limit after five innings.

Warner walked to lead off the contest and went all the way to third on a ground ball out before scoring on a wild pitch on ball four to James Hery.

Baylin Luttrell followed with an RBI base hit to left field and Hery went to third on a bobble.

Eli Cross made it a 3-0 contest when he stroked an RBI single to right field and Lucas Hery followed with a base on balls.

Red Birds’ starting pitcher Bryson Jones escaped any further damage when he came up with a strikeout and a grounder back to mound to end the inning.

In the home half of the first inning, Derek Keel drew a one-out walk and went to second on a wild pickoff attempt before moving to third on a ground ball out.

Keel scored the Red Birds’ first league run when he raced home on a wild pitch.

Chris Gilbert came to the hill for the Red Birds in the second inning and escaped a bases loaded two-out jam.

The Red Birds cut Nichirin’s lead to a single run in the bottom of the second on an RBI base hit by Hayden Haney.

Nichirin scored an unearned run in the top of the third inning to make it 4-2 and Kam Street led off the home half of the frame with a base on balls, but was quickly erased when Nichirin backstop Rob Hawkins gunned him down, trying to steal second base.

Luke Uselton came on in relief and Warner greeted him with a base hit to lead off the top of the fourth inning, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double and Uselton struck out the next two Nichirin batters.

Fink whiffed the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the frame before giving up a pinch hit double to Ethan Sworish.

For some reason, Sworish wandered off the bag and Fink picked him off to end the inning.

Uselton struck out the side in order in the top of the fifth inning before Koen Fagan drew a leadoff base on balls in the home half of the stanza.

Fink came up with a strikeout and force out, but Jack Argue extended the game with a walk and Street worked a 3-0 count before Nichirin pitching coach Howie Warner made a trip to the mound.

Whatever Warner said worked as Fink fired three straight strikes past Street to end the game.

Nichirin 301 00-4 3 1

Red Birds 110 00-2 4 3

Nichirin: Trey Warner 1-for-2, Baylin Luttrell 1-for-3, Eli Cross 1-for-2.

BB: Colton Fink 3, Reid Mitchell 2, Lucas Hery 2, Warner, Aaron Powell.

RS: Warner, Fink, Luttrell, Cross.

RBI: Luttrell, Cross.

ROE: Cross, Rob Hawkins.

SB: Hawkins 2, Mitchell.

LOB: 9

E: Warner.

WP: Trey Warner (3IP, 2H, 2R, 1ER, 5K, 2BB).

Save: Colton Fink (2IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 4K, 2BB).

Red Birds: Derek Keen 1-for-1, Andy Reed 1-for-2, Hayden Haney 1-for-2, Ethan Sworish 1-for-1.

BB: Koen Fagan 2, Keen, Jack Argue, Kam Street.

RS: Keen, Fagan.

2B: Fagan, Sworish.

RBI: Haney.

ROE: Bryson Jones.

SB: Haney.

CS: Street.

PIK: Sworish.

LOB: 5

E: Luke Uselton, Haney, Argue.

LP: Bryson Jones (1P, 2H, 3R, 1E, 5K, 2BB).

Relief: Chris Gilbert (2IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 3K, 5BB).

Relief: Luke Usleton (2IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 4K, 1BB).