The Austin Blue Sox picked up a big win as they edged out the Rochester Royals 4-3 in Marcusen Park Wednesday.

The win puts the Blue Sox (11-13 overall, 3-4 Section) in a second place tie with the Rochester Royals and each team has two games remaining on their schedule. The postseason begins next Wednesday.

“Tonight really was a must win for us,” Blue Sox manager Josh Kunze said. “This was big for us. We’ve got more work to do, but we had to win this one first and foremost.”

Austin took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth inning when Brandon Rector reached on a Rochester throwing error with two outs and two runs scored on the play. Then Carter Guthmiller came up with a clutch, two-out, infield RBI-single to put Austin up 4-3.

The Blue Sox initially took a 1-0 lead in the first when Nate Wilson, who went 3-for-4, singled in a run with two outs.

“I had a lot of confidence up at the plate tonight and it felt real good. I’m glad I was able to do something,” Wilscn said. “It’s crucial to get ahead of these guys and stay ahead. They’re a really good team and it’s hard to stay ahead of these guys.”

The Royals made their move in the fourth inning when they scored three runs, but the damage could’ve been limited if Austin hadn’t committed an error in the frame.

“We had a little hiccup defensively in the fourth inning,” Kunze said. “It would’ve been easy for us to pack it up and say ‘here we go again.’ We were very resilient and we showed a lot of heart tonight.”

Brady Banse allowed just two earned runs in seven innings to get the win and Cody Schact pitched two scoreless innings to get the save for Austin.

The Blue Sox will host the Austin Greyhounds Friday at 8 p.m. and they will play at the Rochester Royals to close the regular season Saturday.

“We feel like we’re putting it together and the pieces are starting fit. We have a strong pitching staff,” Kunze said.

Austin played Wednesday’s game without Lukas Anderson, who was out with a bruised foot.

Royals 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 9 4

Blue Sox 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 X — 4 8 3

Blue Sox pitching: Brady Banse (W) 7 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 K, 1 HBP; Cody Schact (S) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 K

Blue Sox hitting: Jaimie Adams, 1-for-4, double; Josh Kunze, 0-for-3, HBP; Brian Voigt, 0-for-4, R; Mark Harber, 1-for-3, R, BB; Nate Wilson, 3-for-4, RBI, R; Clay Eustice, 0-for-4; Cody Meyer, 2-for-4, 2 doubles; Brandon Rector, 0-for-4, R; Carter Guthmiller, 1-for-4, RBI