By Sean Duncan

WESTCHESTER – It didn’t look good for Niles West early. The Wolves committed three errors in the first inning, helping spot upstart St. Joseph to a 4-0 advantage Tuesday.

But Niles West slowly chipped away, and finally put the game away with three runs in the top of the seventh to defeat the Chargers 8-6 in a game between two early-season surprises.

Left-handed hitting junior middle infielder Kyle Colletta sparked the turnaround with a two-run homer to right-center field in the third inning. Colletta, ranked No. 28 in the Class of 2013, finished the game 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI, a walk and a sacrifice bunt. Colletta also earned the victory on the mound, working two innings in relief of junior right-hander Seth Rosenberg.

“I knew we would settle in,” said Colletta. “I knew we would bounce back, but I didn’t know it would be this exciting.”

Rosenberg certainly did his part in helping the Wolves improve to 5-1. The 6-foot, 200-pound left-handed hitter went 3-for-4 with three RBI, including the game-winning hit. With two outs and the bases loaded, Rosenberg rapped a single up the middle, which the pitcher gloved. In haste to get Rosenberg at first base, the pitcher threw the ball away, enabling two more runs to score. Rosenberg also doubled and delivered a two-run single in the fifth give Niles West a 5-4 advantage.

To no fault of Rosenberg’s, Niles West spotted St. Joseph (6-2) four runs with shoddy defense in the first inning. After yielding two hits in the first, Rosenberg limited the Chargers to one more hit, finishing with seven strikeouts, four walks, two hit batsman and three hits in his five innings.

Leadoff man Jimmy Ostrega doubled and scored two runs for Niles West. Shortstop Kevin Ross, a Michigan signee who’s ranked No. 5 overall in the senior class, also scored a run in the seventh after he was intentionally walked to load the bases. In the bottom of the sixth, Ross made a spectacular sliding play right of the second base, sprung up and fired an errant throw that allowed the tying run to score, making it 5-5 heading into the seventh inning.

“After the first inning, I thought it was just a matter of keeping our composure,” said Niles West coach Garry Gustafson. “Especially the way we swing the bats. I thought if we kept our composure we could come back.

“Kyle Colletta had a big day. That (home run) really took the air out of them.”

Senior Brian Powers led St. Joseph’s with a run-scoring single in the first and a bases-loaded hit by pitch in the seventh. Senior right-hander Stephen Scattassa struck out seven and walked two in six innings work behind an effective curveball and an 80-83 mph fastball that touched 84.