REDMOND — Through the first two series of conference play, the ball did not seem to bounce the way the defending Intermountain Conference champions were expecting on the baseball diamond.

Summit started out April with a record of 2-5. The Storm did not win either of their two IMC series and lost all five of their games decided by two runs or fewer.

And by coach Aaron Boehm’s count, the Storm have blown seven leads in their 17 games.

But with an 8-7 come-from-behind win at Redmond Tuesday evening, Summit had the weight lifted off its shoulders. The Storm earned their first conference series win and claimed their first one-run game in more than a month to keep pace in a crowded IMC.

“The kids have been working hard and we’ve been so close,” Boehm said.

“Today was all about the little things that came through for us. To come from behind and close it out at the same time, that was huge for us. Those are the things we just haven’t been able to do.”

“We have been struggling a little bit,” said junior outfielder Slater DeBrun. “It is a relief. It feels great for the odds to finally turn our way a little bit.”

Summit (7-10, 3-5 IMC) won 17-7 in five innings on Monday to open the series, tallying 10 hits with four of them for extra bases. In Game 2 Tuesday against the Panthers (6-12, 2-6), the Storm were held scoreless through the first four innings while Redmond junior pitcher Eli Pupo was dealing on the mound.

The Panthers were first on the board after Pupo drove home senior catcher Colton Horner in the first inning. Redmond took a 2-0 lead in the second when junior Gunnar Key singled home sophomore Wyatt Horner.

A balk in the fourth inning with the bases loaded gave Redmond a 3-0 lead.

Trailing by three and down to its final seven outs, the Storm mounted their comeback. And they did so without hitting balls over the fence or into the gaps, but rather by being patient at the plate and taking advantage of Panther errors.

The first two runners that crossed home plate reached base by a walk and being hit by a pitch. A fielding error led to both runs. Summit was able to load the bases in the sixth inning with a single and two hit batters, then an error led to the game-tying run.

A bases-loaded walk gave the Storm the lead, then junior Alex Via singled to give the Storm a 6-3 lead. The Storm sent 11 batters to the plate in the sixth inning to take a commanding 8-3 lead.

“It all starts with one player getting on to shift the momentum for the entire team,” Via said. “One good at bat will turn into two, three, four in a row. That is what really starts getting our offense going.”

But the Panthers responded in their half of the sixth inning by loading the bases with only one out. Senior Ryker Altizer singled to drive home two runs to make it 8-5. Then the play that essentially decided the game happened.

With two runners on, Colton Horner laced a ball deep to right field. Two runners scored. But the Storm perfectly executed a double-cutoff from the outfield to tag Horner out at third base for the second out of the inning. Horner represented the tying run and was trying to stretch a double into a triple.

“Every day in practice we are working on those,” said DeBrun, who was pitching during the inning. “That was so clutch. On the mound, we needed that play, and my teammates stepped up for me in a big way.”

Added Boehm: “It is those little things that allowed us to get that out at third. Those are rally killers. If we don’t get that out at third, we probably lose the game.”

The Storm and the Panthers will meet again Thursday at Summit with the first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Redmond will try to avoid the sweep, while Summit, with a newly-acquired confidence, will go for its third consecutive win.

“As we get closer to playoffs, it puts us in a better position,” DeBrun said. “It gives momentum, which we didn’t have before.”