Photo courtesy of Iowa Central Athletics: Iowa Central's Chayton Fischer was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI as the Tritons outlasted Dakota County on Friday, 9-7, to move within a single victory of an NJCAA World Series berth.

The 13th-ranked Iowa Central baseball team took a giant first step toward ending a lengthy NJCAA Div. II World Series drought here Friday afternoon.

In the opening game of a best-of-three series with Dakota County for the North Plains District title, the Tritons scored a 9-7 victory.

Thanks to a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth, Iowa Central (43-15 overall) is now in position to clinch a bid to nationals on Saturday at Rogers Park. First pitch in game two is set for 1 p.m., with a possible win-or-go-home contest to begin 45 minutes afterward if needed.

The Tritons were last at the NJCAA World Series in 2010.

“We’ve obviously been in some tight situations this year, so the guys didn’t seem to feel any added pressure when Dakota County rallied to tie it,” ICCC head coach Eric Stein said. “They just went out and did what they needed to do.

“It feels great to be up 1-0 (in the series) but we need to come out Saturday with even more energy and focus.”

The Blue Knights (37-17), who entered having won 20 in a row, jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Iowa Central answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third before taking a 6-2 lead thanks to a four-spot in the fourth.

It was 7-3 in the seventh when Dakota County plated a single run, before resetting the game with three more runs in the eighth. The Tritons then answered with a rally of their own in the bottom of the eighth, plating the winning two runs. Sawyer Stein had what wound up being the clinching RBI in the frame.

Chayton Fischer finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, Cooper Nicholson was 2-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI, and Bryson Carpenter drove in three.

Luke Bohonek, hitting out of the No. 8 spot, scored twice while Carpenter, Bohonek, Sawyer Stein, Spencer Pederson, Isaiah Scott and Cade Sears all had a hit. Stein and Jake Busson each drove in a run.

Ryan Ohm pitched the first seven-plus, striking out 13 with no walks allowed and seven hits scattered. He allowed four earned runs.

Chris McCormack (9-0) came on and ultimately earned another win, retiring the final five batters with two strikeouts.

“We’ve relied on Chris to come on in key situations and deliver, and he did that again,” Stein said. “Ryan did a nice job — they just took advantage of the conditions (40-plus mile per hour winds and below-normal temperatures) and had some timely hits against him.”

For Dakota County, Nick Brandt hit two solo home runs. Brady Schafer also went deep, driving in three.

Nate Heymann, George Anderson, Schafer and Brandt each had two hits.

LJ Manning struck out 12 over five-plus for the Blue Knights, who are from Rosemount, Minn.