PORTLAND, Ore. (Interstat) — The Portland Pilots capitalized on a decisive first inning and rode a strong start from William Labonte to a 6-1 victory over the Saint Mary’s Gaels in the rubber match of their three-game series Sunday evening at Joe Etzel Field.

The Pilots (17-8) sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, erasing an early one-run deficit with a three-run outburst against Saint Mary’s starter Jake Hilton. After Brady Bean singled, Tyler Swygart walked and Noah Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Cole Katayama-Stall drove in the tying run with a single through the right side. Gage Bruce then delivered the key blow, a two-run single to right that scored Miller and Katayama-Stall to give Portland a 3-1 lead it would not relinquish.

That early offense was more than enough for Labonte (2-1), who earned the win with six solid innings. The right-hander allowed one earned run on seven hits, striking out five and walking none. He worked around traffic effectively, inducing two double plays to stifle Gael rallies. Labonte’s performance marked a rebound from his previous outing where he allowed three earned runs.

Saint Mary’s (13-13) had taken a brief 1-0 lead in the top of the first without a hit, as Tanner Griffith reached on an error, advanced on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch. The Gaels cut the lead to 3-1 in the second when Ian Armstrong scored on an RBI single by Jared Mettam, but Labonte limited further damage by stranding three runners in the frame.

The Pilots extended their lead to 4-1 in the fourth. Bruce doubled down the right-field line and scored on an RBI single by Dustin Chun. Portland added single runs in the sixth and eighth innings. In the sixth, Bruce drove in his third run of the game with a single that scored Katayama-Stall, who had walked and advanced on a wild pitch. Katayama-Stall then provided the final margin with a solo home run in the eighth inning off reliever David Roberts.

Saint Mary’s collected nine hits but grounded into two critical double plays and went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Mettam led the Gaels with two hits and an RBI. Hilton (0-2) took the loss, charged with four earned runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings.

Ky Hoskinson and Grady Keljo provided three innings of scoreless relief for Portland, allowing just two hits. For Saint Mary’s, Roberts, Max Johnson and Cam Staton combined for 4 1/3 innings of one-run relief.

The victory gave Portland the series win after the teams split the first two games. The Pilots next travel to face Oregon on Tuesday. Saint Mary’s visits California on Tuesday.