t was a good ballgame for both Federal Way and Thomas Jefferson, with a closing finish from the Raiders, Derek Voigt, for a 9-8 win over the host Eagles Thursday.

The Raiders improved to 4-2 and 8-4 overall while FW dropped to 2-4.

"Interesting game, " said Raiders head coach, Mike Church. "Two teams that reall battled. They don't get much better than that."

They don't. From the beginning of the game, run production was in full swing as the Raiders scored four on Raiders starter, a senior, Jordan Beers early, leading 4-1 after one. Justin Southern reached base by an infielding error before Shane Elliott was hit by a pitch. Then Brandon Robbins got a single for a couple and so did Nick Tanielly double for two more.

The Raiders came back and scored some more on Michael Sigafoos and Beers drawing walks to open the third. Then Johnny Palko and Derek Voigt brought them in.

This game it was Beers who had a tough start, close to an ace for the Raiders. But that was OK , as after the first four runs in the first inning, Beers allowed only two more in pitching the next five innings.

"Once Jordan got a little more determined, he pitched well," said Church.

The real determination came a little later on in the game, with the score, 6-4, Eagles entering the top of the sixth.

Eagles pitcher TJ Horsfall got two ground outs and a strikeout and that was that. Federal Way came to the plate and got a walk from Taniely, a freshman. Then, Beers threw over to first base, like six times, to keep Taniely from getting too big a lead. Taniely finally went on the seventh pitch of Beers, that went to the plate. Taniely took off running and was out stealing.

Anothe strikeout and a fielder's choice out ended things for the Eagles momentum possibilites there.

Then came the Raiders seventh inning top half, do or die time. And the Raiders did not go gently into the good twilight, starting off with a single that found it's way up the middle from Derek Voigt. Jerret Hardy next drew a walk to put runners at first base, second base. Kylle Ashton then slapped a 2-RBI shot to left-centerfield and it was all tied up, 6-6.

Players were really starting to get rowdy in the dugout for the Raiders as the rally was nearly complete. Beers could be heard above the din, 'Let's go. Let's go.' as each batter came to the plate for his team then.

Michael Sigafoos, a junior then smacked the ball, a single to left-center and it was far enough to score

Ashton, 7-6, Raiders.

They weren't dead yet. Next up, Andrew Jones drew a walk to put runners at first and second followed by Beers bunt single. Bases loaded. Johnny Palko knew what to do, with a crushing single for a 8-6 lead. A fielder's choice by Spencer LeCompte moved the runners and Sam Larsen sacrifice flied one good enough to get another run across, 9-6.

Federal Way had one more chance to save things as Raiders closer, Voigt, took the hill to start the bottom of the seventh. The first two hitters reached base before Justin Southern, a senior and captain came to the plate.

Southern battled Voigt to a three ball, two strike count, with the next pitch a swing that set the ball curving like a banana around the first base line. Southern's speed would have had him at second with a 2-RBI double, and, still no outs. But...

Foul ball !

The umpire made the call and it was hard to see just how close it was, 10 feet, maybe five feet off the foul line in right field.

"I thought it was going to be fair, I thought two feet," said Soutern who quarterbacked the Eagles to the state playoffs last fall and also made it to regionals in wrestling before an injury default after winning his first match kept him likely from making it to the next step of state. But, anyway, here was Southern booking around first base, the right fielder of the Raiders chasing it down. And, 'FOUL BALL' yelled the umpire. A collective sigh of relief came from the visiting side of fans in the benches and consternation from the home side filled up pretty good.

Then came Southern trotting back to the plate from second base in what turned out to be nothing more than excercise. The next pitch from Voigt was a ball. Bases loaded.

Voigt had to be a little nervous at this time, no outs and the bases full of Eagles, in the bottom of the seventh.

Voighgt calmly faced the next batter though and got him jammed to bloop a liner dropping in front of shorstop and the subsequent throw to second and first was just what the doctor ordered. Double play!

Then the next batter took the count to 2-2 before a wicked fastball from Voigt was swung on and missed. Game over.

What was Voigt thinking in that pressure-cooker seventh when there were no outs and a lot of guys on the basepaths for the Eagles?

"I tried not to think about it," said Voigt. "Things happen. I was thinking I was a good enough pitcher to hit my spots."

And hit them he did. Voigt came through and confidently so.

"Yes, he did," said Church. It was a kind of situation too-bases loaded, no outs- where Church had to thinking 'hook.' No, not leaving and watching the Robin Williams aptly titled pirate movie, but thinking he needed to pull Voigt. But Church had help in making the decision to let Voigt keep throwing despite looking like struggling.

"The whole team was saying, let him finish," said Church. "We beat Kentwood, 3-1, recently," said Church of the team that is one or maybe two that are higher in the standings than the Raiders right now. "Derek came in in the seventh and did good."

And he will be all the better for it for this Raiders team that is head and shoulders better than last year's team, record-wise anyway.The Raiders were 5-9 last year, not even close to making the playoffs. This year they are on the cusp.

Goals?

"We are trying to take it one game at a time," said Voigt, a senior on this Raiders team that has several, eight seniors and nine juniors. That says something about Federal Way, too, Church said, saying the Eagles are in the situation his team was last year, being younger.

The Eagles are in a tough position for the Danny Graham-coached team.

The Eagles have been struggling but this team will keep on forging ahead one can guess and guess correctly they would be doing if they said that.

Forging ahead and still having their heads down?

"Coach Graham does not let that happen," said Southern, who will go to Eastern Oregon to play football next year.

"He pushes us to play better. I expect to win every time and he does too. He's not satisfied with a close loss to good teams."

But that is exactly how things have gone for the Eagles losing a second, one-run game consecutively.

But Graham was not upset with this game at all.

"We didn't quit on ourselves," he could be heard talking to his team after the game. "Every at-bat was a battle."