NORWAY - Norway had little time to recover from a 9-3 loss to Red Top in the first game of an Iowa Valley League twinbill Sunday.

The Bandits were held hitless for five innings by Red Top starter Cole McDonald, scoring late off the Red Top bullpen.

Enter Brady Corson.

The left-hander survived a rough first inning in Game 2, giving up a run and a pair of hits. He would give up nothing after that, walking only two the rest of the way as the Bandits rolled to a 10-1 victory to earn a split.

Corson, a Cedar Falls High School graduate who just finished his sophomore season at Cal-State San Marcos, had what had been a hot hitting Red Top unit off balance much of the game.

"Coming out of the bullpen I felt good tonight," Corson said. "The defense behind me played great. We had a tough first inning but we still made it work.

"I felt like I had my command as I kept going," he said. "It wasn't just me. I got a lot of help from the defense."

The split left Norway at 6-6 in league play. Red Top sits at 7-5 and is now four games behind league leader Fairfax (11-1), which swept a twinbill Sunday over Walford.

"My catcher (JT Sole) and I were working really well together tonight," Corson said. "My curve ball was working pretty well so I had them guessing."

After giving up the run in the top of the first, Norway got to Red Top starter Anthony Gagliardi for three runs in the bottom of the inning. Riley Braughton of Upper Iowa doubled to open the inning and Kace Massner, who redshirted this past season at Iowa, also doubled in the three-run inning.

The Bandits broke it open with a six-run outburst in the fourth. Travis Mueller had a double and Colby Carmichael had a key run-scoring single.

"This was a good win for our team," Courson said. "Red Top has a good team with some (NCAA) Division I players. They have always been one of the top teams in this league.

Red Top got another stellar outing from McDonald in the opener. The Iowa right-hander was nearly perfect in his five innings, allowing just a walk while striking out five.

Tyler Howe provided a good chunk of the offense, pounding out a two-run homer in the second and driving home a third with a single in the third. Ben Norman had a big game as well, rapping our a pair of hits including a three-run home run in the top of the seventh.

Norway hits the road on Saturday night for the annual holiday twinbill at Watkins, beginning at 5 p.m. Red Top will host league-leading Fairfax in a 1 p.m. doubleheader. The games will be played at Iowa City West High School.