The San Rafael Pacifics rallied past Marysville, 4-3, in Wednesday’s deciding game to secure a berth in the Pecos League Pacific Division championship series, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Friday. The Pacifics will either travel to Bakersfield or stay home to host Vallejo, depending on the outcome of the other semifinal Wednesday night.

The Pacifics’ Nick Smith hit a solo homer at Albert Park in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score. Big-hitting Mark Hernandez came up with an RBI double to bring around Karon Casey for the winning run.

Reliever Alex Valasek then closed the door on the victory for San Rafael, which beat Marysville, 18-6, in Tuesday’s second game of the best-of-three series.

“You come into a game like this and everybody knows it’s a must-win game,” Pacifics manager Austin Fitzpatrick said after Tuesday’s win. “It’s not really talked about. We just understand what kind of level of play we need to have and that means playing true Pacifics baseball. That’s kind of been our motto all season. We kind of got away from it in July, though.”

The Pacifics took an early lead and starter Owen Cuffe made sure it stood up to force Wednesday’s showdown in the third game of the best-of-three Pecos League Pacific Division semifinal series. The Drakes won Monday’s opener, 8-3. The winner of Wednesday’s game will face the winner of the other playoff series between regular-season champion Bakersfield and No. 4 seed Vallejo, which is also going to a third game Wednesday.

“He’s thrown the ball well for us a bunch this year,” Fitzpatrick said of Cuffe, who struck out eight batters, walked one and held the Drakes to one run on seven hits for the win. “He’s that kind of guy, he’s an absolute competitor. He wants the ball…. He gave us six strong innings tonight and that’s all you can ask for.”

Cuffe, a reliever for Saint Mary’s, joined the Pacifics in June after the Gaels West Coast Conference Tournament run. On Tuesday, he gave the Pacifics the controlled outing they desperately needed to snap a three-game skid that stretched back to the final weekend of the regular season with a 14-7 loss to Vallejo and a 17-2 loss to Martinez. The Pacifics were 3-8 in the final two weeks of regular season play in July.

“We hit a little bit of a skid through July, but to me, that’s all adversity that needs to be faced,” Fitzpatrick said. “If you spend the whole year in first place and you’re just winning, you’re not really learning anything. When you really start to struggle, that’s when you see a team really put it together and decide who they’re going to be. With this group here, I’ve really been impressed that we’ve responded to that adversity.”

San Rafael came through for 14 hits Tuesday against Marysville, led by hard-hitting Mark Hernandez, who was 3 for 5 with a triple and a homer for three runs and four RBIs. Nick Smith was 3 for 5 with two runs and two RBIs, while Esai Santos doubled and had a pair of base hits for three runs and two RBIs.

Hernandez powered a solo shot high over the left-field wall to give San Rafael a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Pacifics didn’t let the early momentum go to waste.

Chris Blyskal’s two-run double dropped between two outfielders at the warning track near the deepest part of centerfield to spark a three-run surge in the second inning. Aki Buckson slowed to a saunter as he scored from second base, with teammate Nick Smith charging close behind.

Cuffe’s grounder up the middle bounced high off the mound and over the pitcher as he reached first base on an error. Santos followed with a hopper past second base to score Blyskal for a 4-0 lead.

Marysville got one run back in the top of the fourth with a home run by Micah Walker, before San Rafael launched a barrage for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth.

San Rafael retired Drakes starting pitcher Rodrigo Sanchez in the bottom of the fourth inning after an RBI double from Santos. Sanchez gave up six earned runs on six hits, with three strikeouts and three walks.

Marysville reliever Tim Nichols struggled from the outset in the fourth as the Pacifics batted around. He hit the first batter he faced, Hernandez, to load the bases for Beau Dorman, who then hit a two-run double to score Santos and Cuffe.

Diggle sacrificed his body to load the bases again and Buckson drew a walk to force in a run. Smith’s grounder bounced high off the pitcher’s mound and an error at second allowed two runners to score, and Smith reached base safely. Buckson beat the throw home on Blyskal’s fielder’s choice hit to second for an 11-1 lead.

San Rafael nearly batted around again in the fifth inning and Smith’s broken-bat single drove in two more runs for a 13-1 Pacifics lead. San Rafael scored three more times in the sixth inning, highlighted by John Bicos’ deep shot over the left field fence that clanged off the metal shed beyond.

The Pacifics had reason to celebrate with a commanding 16-1 lead, but they remained cautious after having seen the power of the Marysville lineup. The Drakes hit hard for five runs in the top of the seventh inning, powered by a two-run single by Jumpei Phashi, who later scored on a balk. Joe Starick added an RBI single and later scored on a bases-loaded walk from Pacifics reliever Marcus Watkins to Sean Connelly.

The Pacifics held their ground, however, and Hernandez answered in the bottom of the seventh inning with a two-run triple to deep centerfield.

“If you’re looking at the league as a whole this year, especially our division, teams are getting better,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is the idea of the Pecos League. This is what it should look like, where every team is competitive. Every team is playing down to the wire, and they’re making adjustments. I wouldn’t say it’s been a struggle as much as everyone’s getting better. When the competition’s rising all around you, you need to be able to show up and compete.”