Rivals Mellieha and Gozo fought tooth and nail last Sunday in a battle for supremacy.

When the dust settled, the two teams had split their two game-series and little was settled. Mellieha won game one by the narrowest of margins - 7-6 . Both teams scored two runs in the first inning as a result of aggressive base running.

Gozo took a 5-2 lead in the fourth inning after stringing together three consecutive hits.

Mellieha struck back in the fifth and scored five runs to take a 7-5 lead. Marlon Borg highlighted the inning with a rocket triple to the left field fence, which drove in a run.

Gozo hit back in the seventh inning scoring one run but came up just short in the end. Keith Bartolo pitched extremely well for Mellieha, striking out a record 17 Gozo players with a blistering fastball and biting curve.

In game two, Gozo came out for revenge and handed Mellieha their first defeat of the season - 13-3. Charles Attard pitched well and won for the second consecutive week allowing only two earned runs and two hits.

Jeff Tabone led the offence, driving in four of the Gozitan runs. Steve Ellis, Joe Portelli and Josef Vella added two rbi's apiece.

Mellieha stay top of the table and look the team to beat this season.

Next fixtures at Marsa: Saturday - Mellieha vs Gzira, Game One at 1 p.m., Game Two at 4 p.m. Sunday - Gozo vs Pembroke, Game One at noon, Game Two at 3 p.m.

Standings: Mellieha W4 L1; Gozo W2 L2; Gzira W2 L3; Pembroke W1 L3.