Unfortunately, it was a mile straight up — not out — and when the ball re-entered the atmosphere and nestled in the glove of a Hagerstown infielder, the Weevils were officially 9-5 losers to the Suns in an Easter Sunday South Atlantic League baseball game played at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium. Jacobson had entertained thoughts of capping another incredible Weevil rally — one that would have matched the team’s miracle comeback Saturday night.

Down 9-4 and down to their last out, four straight Weevils reached on an infield hit by Marlon Byrd, Eric Schreimann’s run-scoring double and two walks. That made it 9-5 with the bases juiced. And that’s when manager Greg Legg sent Jacobson, who has three homers this season — some of them tape-measure blasts — up to pinch-swing for Brian Hitchcox. Jacobson took a mighty rip at Peyton Lewis’ first offering, but skied it harmlessly. Like they say, it was a homer only in an elevator shaft.

“Russ knows what we needed in that situation and he’s not going up there to take,” said Legg. “He’s trying to hit the ball hard. It looked like he got a real good pitch to hit and he had a good swing at it. He just got underneath it.”

The Weevils, 12-5 and still in first place in the Northern Division, got big games from Byrd (three hits, including a homer) and Nate Espy (3-for-3, plus two walks), but it wouldn’t have been just if they’d yanked this one from the fire.

“We had a chance at the end ,” said Legg. “But honestly, Hagerstown played a little better than we did today. They deserved it. When we got ahead in the first inning 1-0, the way things went for them last night, they might’ve rolled on over. But they kept plugging away.”

No one in a perfect-weather crowd of 1,116 would argue with Legg that Hagerstown (9-7) played sounder baseball. Technically, Piedmont made just one error and that’s what the scoreboard showed. But the reality was that the Weevils lost because of a series of shaky defensive plays in the seventh inning.

Piedmont starter Frank Brooks had worked a trio of 1-2-3 innings and was still locked up in a 2-2 tie after six. But with one out in the seventh, Josh Holliday, a reserve catcher getting a chance to play first base (maybe because it was a holiday), launched a ball over the head of Piedmont rightfielder Carlos Acevedo. Acevedo fell down on the play, but centerfielder Shomari Beverly got to the ball and fired it back to the cutoff man in good shape. Meanwhile, Holliday, who had jogged nearly to a complete stop at second base, apparently content with a double, was surprisingly urged on to third by manager Rolando Pino. The Weevils should have had him dead to rights. They didn’t get him.

“I thought we took our time on the relay,” said Legg. “And then the throw short-hopped (third baseman) Hitchcox, and he couldn’t handle it.”

With a runner at third, Legg brought his infield in for a play at the plate. The next batter, Shannon Carter, grounded a ball toward second. Alex Rojas gloved it, but only after moving several steps laterally. His off-balance throw home was high and wide right and the go-ahead run scored easily.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t communicate on that play,” said Legg. It was a tough play for Alex and probably he should have just taken the out at first. But someone has to let him know that.”

Of such plays are big innings born and the Weevils helped things deteriorate further when Rojas and shortstop Buzz Hannahan couldn’t make connections when Auntwan Riggins followed with a weak bouncer up the middle.

Now, the gate swung open for Hagerstown in earnest. Brandon Jackson’s solid single made it 4-2 and chased the luckless Brooks. Reliever Justin Fry then came to the hill toting several gallons of Hi-Test to toss on the flames. Three straight Suns jumped Fry for solid hits to make it 7-2. Then a Fry pitch eluded catcher Jeremy Deitrick with a runner at third and the Suns were the proud owners of a six-run inning and the Weevils were buried 8-2.

Piedmont got two runs back on Espy’s two-out, two-run double to the right-center field gap in the seventh, but Kevin Cash made it 9-4 in the top of the ninth when he took Weevil reliever Matt Bailie deep. That set the stage for the Weevils’ aborted comeback attempt in the bottom of the inning.

The teams tangle again tonight.