Of the 11 Memorial hits on Tuesday, seven of them came from the sixth through ninth batters in the order.

The Titans posted four runs in the fifth inning to expand a one-run lead and went on to run-rule Cleveland 14-4 in six innings as the fog settled in Port Arthur. The performance in the bottom of the order pleasantly surprised coach Jessie Riojas.

“That’s where the runs came from, the bottom of the order,” Riojas asked. “Wow, that’s huge for us. I knew we had some productivity at the top, and we wanted those guys to do some damage down there. … I’m pretty excited and happy about that, and I think everybody else is, too.”

Memorial (4-4, 1-0 in 21-5A) evened its overall record and began district play getting three hits, three runs scored and an RBI from No. 7 batter Van Ellas. Miguel Samudio, in the 8-hole, went 2 for 3, but reached base four times (advanced to first on a dropped strikeout and walked). Leadoff Branden Chaney went 2 for 3 with two walks and two RBI.

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The hits at the bottom of the order did not take by surprise Ellas, who batted 3 for 4.

“You’ve got to get on in the bottom of the order, ready to hit. Worked all season for it, worked all off-season for it, and we got here. We did what we had to do.”

Ellas and Samudio, along with No. 6 hitter Josue Rodriguez, No. 9 hitter Miguel Martinez and Chaney, reeled off five straight singles in the sixth, leading to five runs.

Rodriguez scored on a passed ball and Martinez batted in a run with an error at centerfield allowing another to score. Ellas, Samudio and Chaney recorded an RBI each in the eight-batter frame.

The Titans’ offense backed up a solid start for Adler Kithler. He struck out eight and allowed one earned run on three hits in five-plus innings.

“Coaches told me to come in and throw strikes,” Kithler said. “That’s what I did. Basically, I got tired at the end. That’s it. I need to work on that.”

Memorial survived an error-filled game. The Titans were charged with four miscues, but the Indians (3-11, 0-1) committed five — all in the last two innings.

That helped the home team score eight runs to close the game with a 10-run margin after five innings. Three errors at shortstop and one-run singles by Ellas and Chaney secured the win early.

Cleveland led once, as Brett Dickerson led the game off with a single and then scored on a dropped fly ball at right field. Chaney was hit by a pitch and came home on a Kithler double.

Johan Nakao walked and ran to third base on two passed balls in the second. He scored on Rodriguez’s grounder, followed by Ellas’ double. Ellas scored on the dropped strikeout during Samudio’s at-bat.

The Indians kept it tight when Nathan Nelson sent Dickerson home again on a grounder. Dickerson got on base, however, thanks to a fielding error at first.

Indians starter Trenton Comstock hit five batters, including Kithler and Jeremiah Fielder in the third. Kithler scored on another passed ball.

Martinez and Jaylen LaPoint were hit as well in the fourth. Martinez crossed the plate on a sacrifice grounder by Kithler.

Cleveland got within 5-4 in the fifth when Eathan Lewis brought in a run on a single and scored on a PB.

Rodriguez faced only two batters. He picked off Rodney Acevedo at second base, induced a comebacker and threw out Aleksi Casteel at the plate and got Mario Loera to ground out.

Comstock worked 4 1/3 innings and gave up seven earned runs on nine hits. Emmanuel Paredez threw the other 1 2/3 innings.

The return game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday in Cleveland.

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I.C. Murrell 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews