Homers at the high school level are a special treat, and two homers in one game – well, that’s a diamond on the diamond.

So when, in the bottom of the sixth on Thursday evening, Yarmouth and Freeport-based Post 91’s Justin McKenna matched an earlier Matt Denison shot over the fence with a blast of his own, giving his team a 9-6 lead on visitors Libby-Mitchell, everyone watching knew for sure what they’d already suspected.

They were witnessing a pretty great game.

McKenna left Libby-Mitchell, made up of kids from Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth, with just one ups to scramble back yet again, and though they came pretty close, scoring two more in the top of the seventh, they couldn’t send the bout into extra innings, and fell 9-8.

“It’s fun, fun to be a part of,” said Libby-Mitchell head coach Ryan Jones. “To see two home runs in one game – you don’t see that very often in high school.”

“We had some guys that fought till the end,” said Post 91 head coach Caleb Uhl. “We’ve had a tough season, but our motto has been ‘never give up,’ and that’s what they did.

“That’s a great team over there; they played really well. We just came out on top.”

Libby-Mitchell struck first, in fact, scoring three in the top of the third. Nick Lorello brought home Tim Ross and Brendan Kane with a deep centerfield shot – a standing triple – then crossed the plate himself on a bouncy Denison grounder past third.

Post 91 couldn’t respond immediately, but they did respond soon: They lit up the bottom of the fourth like it was the Fourth – that is, the Fourth of July – exploding with six runs and rocketing into the lead.

McKenna singled to kick things off. Pete LaMagna followed him to the plate, and walked onto first. Two batters later, Nate Cyr singled to score McKenna, and two batters after that, during Max Heathco’s at-bat, LaMagna stole home.

Heathco also walked onto first, then advanced to third when Grant Gilman dropped a double in wide left field. That hit scored Cyr, and Gilman made it 6-3 on another double, this one a centerfield mortar by CJ Cawley.

Libby-Mitchell responded in their next ups. Kane reached first on a Post 91 error at short, and rounded to third on another Lorello hit, a grounder into left.

That’s when Denison stepped to the plate and promptly ejected a ball beyond the centerfield fence to clear the bases and even the tally, 6-6.

Jones described the action. “It’s a shootout. They happened to score more runs than we did. Whether it was because of an error, a walk, an extra base hit, whatever. It was a well-played game all-around.”

Post 91’s Ryan Nason scored in the bottom of the fifth on an error at first during Max Doughty’s at-bat. It was the lone run in an inning that might’ve been much bigger, had Libby-Mitchell not played some otherwise solid defense.

Props especially to Jack Hughes in right field and Sam Warren at first for combining to shuttle a fly ball that dropped near Hughes all the way to catcher Bayley Welsh, who had just enough time to put the tag on LaMagna, again headed for home. The play saved an important run.

But the team could do literally nothing against McKenna’s homer in the bottom of the sixth, a two-run ball that scored both McKenna and Joe Defusco.

Libby-Mitchell tried like hell to tie things up again. Kane laid down a perfect bunt in the top of the seventh to reach first, rounded to third on a pass ball during Lorello’s at-bat, then touched the plate when Denison lambasted yet another pitch, this time to distant center for a sliding triple.

Denison scored when Warren dropped a fly near the left-field line, and Libby-Mitchell was within one. They couldn’t close the gap; Grant Gilman, on the mound for Post 91, struck out their next batter, Hughes, and their last man up, Jake Gardner, lofted an easy shot skyward for McKenna at second. 9-8 the final.

Gilman’s work on the mound proved critical for Post 91 throughout the day; both Jones and Uhl emphasized as much.

“Their pitcher threw very well,” Jones said. “He didn’t overpower us by any means, but he threw around the zone, kept us off-balance with his off-speed pitch.

“That’s huge,” Uhl said of Gilman’s throwing. “If they’re not off-balance, maybe a hit falls here and it falls there.

“He was able to go all seven innings. He threw a lot of pitches; we call him ‘Rubber Arm.’ He can pretty much do it all. And his off-speed stuff was on today; he threw a lot of strikes.”

Libby-Mitchell’s pitchers were also effective, even if they proved a hair less so in the long run.

“I thought our pitchers battled pretty well,” said Jones. “Our first guy, Jake Gardner, kind of had trouble finding the zone, but our defense took care of the ball behind him. Nick Lorello came in, threw strikes.”

Libby-Mitchell dropped to 4-10 on the summer. That leaves them four games remaining before the Zone 3 playoff. They’ll need to bring their best to the field to see the postseason.

“I think we’ll need to win out to be eligible for playoffs,” said Jones, who’s unsure of his team’s odds, but not for a lack of confidence. They’re simply seeing solid competition. “We’ve been playing games like this all season. One-run, two-run games, we barely lose in the last half-inning.

“We’re getting there. We’re starting to come around. It’s always that one pitch, one hit, one error, the one inning. That one thing.

“Kudos to our guys; they’re battling. Depends on how many guys show up, we’ve got guys playing out of position. It’s summer ball; guys have got work, they’ve got camps on lakes, everything else going on.”

For more photos, visit www.keepmecurrent.com/sports, and follow @CurrentSportsME on Twitter.

Libby-Mitchell starting pitcher Jake Gardner hurls a ball toward home.Post 91 starter Grant Gilman flings a pitch toward home plate.Post 91’s Grant Gilman slides into second as Libby-Mitchell infielder Nick Lorello receives the throw.Post 91’s Justin McKenna slides into third as Libby-Mitchell baseman Austin Pemberton also arrives at the bag.Post 91’s Pete LaMagna arrives home on a steal.In the high, dry heat of summer, a throw to Libby-Mitchell catcher Bayley Welsh kicks a cloud of dust from his mitt.Post 91’s Max Doughty takes a cut.Post 91ers swarm Justin McKenna (with helmet) after his two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.Matt Denison races for home in the bottom of the seventh.