Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Garrett Royster makes a play for St. Edmond against Emmetsburg on Thursday night at Rogers Park. For more photos, visit CU.messengernews.net

Confidence tends to be a fickle beast in baseball.

Right now, St. Edmond definitely has it.

The Gaels won for the seventh time in nine games on Thursday night, holding off Emmetsburg by a final of 12-10 to conclude the Iowa Central Invitational just before midnight at Rogers Park.

A seven-run fourth inning rallied St. Edmond (8-6 overall) and broke things wide open. Head coach Jordan Miller’s squad held off a late E-Hawk comeback attempt, as Emmetsburg (10-5) saw its nine-game win streak snapped.

“It’s great to see the guys believing in themselves and each other,” Miller said. “This sport is all about handling aversity and being patient with the process, even when things aren’t going your way. We preach the importance of staying hungry and humble, and when things are going well, to enjoy the ride while you can.

“We’ve been good recently in close games (five wins by three runs or less during the recent 7-2 surge), and there’s absolutely a mental side to that. You start to buy into the idea that you’ll find a way.”

After Emmetsburg jumped ahead 2-0 right out of the gate, St. Edmond responded with three runs of its own in the opening frame. The E-Hawks were up 6-4 in the fourth when the Gaels began to take control.

Senior Grant Galles had an RBI infield single to plate Garrett Royster and get the ball rolling. Freshman Blake Bartlett then slugged a go-ahead two-run homer off the top of the “Green Monster” wall and over in left field.

St. Edmond never trailed again.

“Garrett had a tough at-bat and found a way on, so it all started with our No. 9 hitter,” Miller said. “He got things in motion. Blake thought he’d taken ball four on a 3-1 count, then hit the next pitch out.”

Consecutive singles by Coltin Fevold and Julian Blanco, a walk to Jack McElroy, and RBI singles by Carson Bargfrede and Royster suddenly put St. Edmond ahead, 11-6.

Royster was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI. Galles scored twice and swiped two bases.

Bartlett worked 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out five. Both squads struggled defensively, committing four errors each.

MJ Bay recorded three hits, scored three times and drove in a pair for Emmetsburg. Cooper Chizek was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Brennan Hasbrouck also knocked in two.

The E-Hawks plated three runs in the seventh before Galles closed the door with a strikeout.

“We’re competing day in and day out,” Miller said. “I’m proud of my seniors especially. They haven’t experienced a ton of success in their (four years with the program), the season got off to kind of a rough start (at 1-4), and there are a lot of things they could be doing after graduating. They’ve stuck it out here and keep grinding and setting the tone for us.”

St. Edmond is at Iowa Falls-Alden on Monday for a North Central Conference twinbill, beginning at 5 p.m.