SNYDER — Scoring runs in each of the first two innings, the Albany baseball team got off to exactly the type of start it was hoping for in Game 1 of the Region I-2A championship series against New Home. But the Leopards used a three-run third to shift the momentum in their favor and led the rest of the way in a 5-3 win Thursday at Moffett Field.

Lions ace Cole Chapman was sharp for most of the game, putting up zeros in three of the five innings he pitched. But the junior right-hander temporarily lost his control in the third, and New Home took advantage, scoring three runs on two singles and four walks to erase the early 2-0 deficit.

The Leopards added two unearned runs in the fifth to go up 5-2, and the Lions could get only one of those runs back in their final three trips to the plate, falling behind in a series for the first time in their playoff run.