It did take some time, but the Falcon bats came alive in the fifth, then finished up early with a 13-1, six-inning win over Clayton.

Green Hope led 3-1 entering the fifth inning, then rolled off three straight run-producing at bats after falling behind 0-2 in the count.

Winning pitcher Joe Pistacchio came back to draw an RBI walk after falling behind 0-2, then Nolan Poythress and David Jasam pushed out two-run singles after bringing run up for a pair of strikes. Suddenly, Green Hope (20-5) led 9-1.

“We had some good at bats in key spots,” said Falcon coach Mike Miragliuolo. “We had an 0-2 count and drew a walk, had a couple of more 0-2 counts and got hits. It was nice to have everybody swinging the bat tonight.”

Eric Brady’s RBI double capped the fifth. Brady doubled twice on the night driving in three runs in his first game back after missing time with a ankle injury.

Falcon right-handers Pistacchio and Adam Boghosian combined on a two-hitter but issued nine walks to Clayton batters. But the Comets couldn’t much — aside from a third-inning RBI double by Matt Bunn — with them. Clayton (14-10) stranded 10 base runners on the night.

“None of the pitchers tonight really pitched that well,” Miragliuolo said. “[Clayton starter Jason Creasy] just couldn’t get his curveball over and that made him easier to hit. We didn’t give up many hits but we didn’t pitch like we can either.”

Boghosian ended things early with a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth, sending the Falcons into round two.

With the win, Green Hope will now host Broughton in the next round of the playoffs.