Waterford — Funny thing happens when you play baseball every day. Manure occureth. Take, for example, Waterford American Legion, 19-0 early last week before a sudden four-game losing streak.

Waterford, tied with Willimantic atop Zone VI, played its biggest game of the season Tuesday night with its least experienced pitcher, 16-year-old right-hander John Pellegrino. Here’s how he described his last outing:

“I gave up, like, six runs,” Pellegrino said.

But he couldn’t have been better Tuesday, working his way to a 3-1 win over Niantic, keeping Waterford tied atop the zone. Pellegrino walked four, hit two and allowed two hits over six innings before his teammates rallied for three in the sixth inning.

“I know a lot of those guys from having played them so much,” Pellegrino said. “But still, it’s kind of a lot to handle. This was a big game. I’ve sat the bench a lot. But I felt like I’ve learned a lot. I was ready.”

Waterford coach Joe Mariani: “John has been tremendous. He’s been anxious to pitch but hasn’t gotten the opportunity. Situations for him just haven’t dictated themselves. At 16, you want to bring them along slowly. He keeps the ball down and keeps you off balance.”

Pellegrino issued a bases-loaded walk to Bennett Coe in the top of the fifth, giving Niantic, which entered the game a game behind Waterford, a 1-0 lead.

Waterford barely touched Niantic starter Ryan Kane into the sixth inning, getting one baserunner as far as second base. And Waterford’s rally wasn’t exactly loud. An error and two hit batters gave Justin Keating a chance with one out.

Keating tied the game with a single to center. Collin Bakken drew a bases-loaded walk to give Waterford the lead before Matt Driscoll’s third hit, an RBI single, made it 3-1.

An error and a hit batter caused some issues for closer Kevin Johnson in the top of the seventh. But Johnson, an infielder at Western New England, retired Coe on a ground ball (close play at first) and struck out Chris Malcom to end it.

“Our guys have showed some heart,” Mariani said. “We didn’t get hits when we needed them last week and we lost some games. But we’ve bounced back nicely. Good bunch of kids.”

The teams play a doubleheader Wednesday, a change in the original schedule.

m.dimauro@theday.com