King’s Fork High School’s baseball team got the better of host Nansemond River High School on Wednesday, for the first time in a while.

“It was a good, clean game by both teams,” Bulldogs coach Pat Stafford said.

The Warriors held a 1-0 lead going into the seventh and final inning, but King’s Fork got the two runs it needed and then efficiently held Nansemond River on defense, leading to a 2-1 victory.

Stafford said it was the first time the Bulldogs have defeated a top 10 team in Hampton Roads in a very long time after noting it was a big conference win.

“It definitely gives us a better opportunity to look for that No. 1 seed going into our conference tournament,” Stafford said.

Senior Cal Bailey pitched a complete game for King’s Fork, as did senior Robert Fitzwater for Nansemond River.

Fitzwater finished with four strikeouts, while Bailey had two, but Bailey often threw pitches that became ground balls and pop flies his team was able to field.

Stafford said both teams finished with only one error.

The Warriors got their run early in the game.

They had runners in scoring position in the sixth inning but could not bring them home.

In the seventh inning, sophomore Tim Gromkoski got to first base on a fielder’s choice. Later on, senior Bryce Jones singled up the middle to score Gromkoski.

Sophomore Tristen DeGuzman ended up scoring Jones for the go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the seventh, Bailey struck out the first batter.

“It was a big momentum change for us,” Stafford said, noting it was a 3-2 count. “It was just big to get that first out of the inning instead of letting that first runner on.”

Sophomore second baseman Andrew Riddick cleanly fielded a ground ball for the second out, and the game ended when Nansemond River’s third batter hit a deep fly ball, which was caught by senior Duke Santora.

“So it was a very eventful seventh inning,” Stafford said.

Sophomore Blake Sargent led the Bulldogs with two hits, a single and a double, while Riddick, Jones and DeGuzman had a hit apiece.

The Warriors finished with three hits.

Nansemond River (2-3) visited Hickory High School on Thursday, and King’s Fork (1-3) hits the road to face Oscar Smith High School today.