Seven is said to be the perfect number. And 13 is frowned on by some as being an unlucky number.

When Washington trailed visiting Musselman by six runs very late in its first-round game of the Class AAA, Region 2, Section 1 baseball tournament, it seemed that seven would be the perfect number for the Applemen. They had scored seven runs in a highly productive fourth inning against Patriot starter Mark McKee and reliever Trevor Pansch.

Musselman led, 8-2, behind left-hander Chris Schleuss, who had not allowed a hit through four innings.

But then it started to sprinkle rain. And Washington started to sprinkle baserunners as the rain became more intense.

Eventually, seven became the perfect number for Washington. The number 13 would prove to be unlucky for only Musselman, which used four pitchers in attempting to quell the Patriots’ definitive sixth-inning rally that appropriately washed away all of the Applemen lead and lifted Washington to a 9-8 win.

There were 13 batters in the prosperous seven-run inning move. Five of Washington’s game-total of six hits came from those “lucky 13” batters. Musselman pitchers Schleuss, George Delinski, Charles Berger, and Tyler Gross handed out five walks in the frame.

Dylan Mumaw, a non-starter, had a two-run single, Hunter Weaver an RBI double and both Weaver and Zac Burch reached base twice before Ryan French was retired on a fly out with the bases still loaded.

The Applemen had plated seven runs in chasing McKee in their opportunistic inning where they batted 11 men. Derlinski would contribute three RBIs and Gross delivered two more runs with his double and bases loaded walk.

Pansch pitched 2.1 innings in relief to earn the pitching win. He walked four and allowed three hits but kept Musselman scoreless in the fifth and sixth. Burch got a save when he blanked the reeling Applemen in the seventh.

By parlaying the numbers “seven” and “13” into a win, Washington got a day of rest before being scheduled to see top-seeded Jefferson on Wednesday in Shenandoah Junction. The double-elimination tournament could conclude this week if the scattered showers that are forecast for every afternoon don’t find Jefferson County.