UNION CITY – The Mississinawa Valley baseball team lost 9-7 in eight innings to Mechanicsburg in its season opener on Saturday.

Mechanicsburg took a 7-0 lead with three runs in the second and four in the third. MV fought back with three runs in the bottom of the third, one in the fifth and three in the seventh to force extra innings. Mechanicsburg then scored the game’s winning runs in the top of the eighth.

Mississinawa Valley had 12 hits while Mechanicsburg had seven. MV made two errors, and Mechanicsburg committed one.

Andrew Johns went 2-for-5 with a double, four RBIs for Mississinawa Valley. Nathan Gladdish was 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Tyler Jenkinson went 2-for-3 with a double, a RBI and two runs scored.

Devan Rinderle was 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and two runs scored. Colyn Nelson went 1-for-3, stole a base and scored two runs. Kyler Guillozet was 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored.

Johns pitched three innings and allowed four earned runs and three unearned runs on five hits, five walks and two strikeouts. Ethan Dirksen pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six. Nelson pitched an inning and allowed two earned runs on one hit, two walks and two strikeouts.