One of Whitehorse's oldest rivalries that dates back to the early 90s' was renewed Sunday evening in the Yukon Fastball League.

The game was between the Roadhouse Pirates and the Chilkoot Steel Oldtimers, who faced off for the first time of season at the Pepsi Softball Centre's diamond two.

This was the second game of the season for Chilkoot Steel, which joined the league earlier this month. The team won its first contest against Cinderwood.

A couple of two-run innings made the difference for Roadhouse, which gave it a comfortable lead late in the contest. The Oldtimers made a push towards the end of the affair, batting in the final three runs, but the Pirates held on, edging them out 6-5.

"It's been a long rivalry," said Jeff Frizzell, who played as a back catcher for the Pirates on Sunday. "It's been great."

Oldtimers' pitcher Jeff Jensen helped out his own cause in the top half of first, singling up the middle to give his team an early 1-0 lead.

Chilkoot Steel wasn't done yet and with the bases loaded scored once again. The team took a 2-0 lead into the bottom half of the inning.

Roadhouse responded with a run of its own after a wild pitch got past Chilkoot's back catcher. The team went on to tie it up in the second, showing off both its skills in the field and at the plate.

After shutting down the Oldtimers, the group drove in its second run thanks to a sacrifice fly that outfielder Chris Saunders caught. Saunders wasted no time in firing the ball in to hold Roadhouse's lone base runner on first.

The Pirates built on their lead in the third and for a second straight inning didn't allow any runs. The top half ended on a strike out made after a nice double play conversion. The bottom half of the third was also memorable and the Pirates enjoyed their first multi-run inning.

The runs were batted in by Mike Tuton, who with two on gave his team its first lead, finding a hole in right field.

Tuton attempted to take an extra base on the play and was thrown out, but his hit gave Roadhouse a 4-2 advantage.

The Pirates added two more again in the fourth, increasing their lead to four runs.

Despite the deficit, the Oldtimers' weren't about to pack it in. The squad drove in its third run on a blooper to centre A wild pitch advanced its two runners to third and second with two outs.

However, a confusing play ended the inning when the team's first-baseman Dave Ecker, who was on third at the time trotted home after a walk. Ecker thought the bases were loaded and was tagged out at the plate.

However, Ecker made up for it in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded, he knocked the ball down and then made a diving tag to end the inning.

Chilkoot went down fighting in the sixth and final inning. With two outs, Arnold O-Riordan fought off a number of pitches before eventually doubling, which advanced a runner to third. With a chance to tie up the contest with one swing, Jensen did the next best thing. He singled into the outfield and drove in both runs.

Tuton wasn't about to give the game away though and got his next batter to pop up in the infield, ending the contest.

Frizzell, who has been a steady fixture on the Yukon fastball scene for the past 15 years, said the win was definitely up there in series with the Oldtimers.

"I don't know if they have gotten better, but they are definitely consistent old guys," he said laughing. "A little bit slower, but the experience is still there. You can see it just the way they play together and the way they can still hit the ball."

He went on to add experience is so important when playing the game.

"Fastball is such a different game," Frizzell said. "It's way more of a thinking game than slow pitch. There's a lot more to do with stealing and bunting and hitting runs, so that experience really plays a key."

Frizzell, who is also a pitcher, guesses both teams have played each other more than 40 times in league play alone, which doesn't include the annual Dawson City tournament, held Discover Day weekend.

He said he knew the oldtimers were going to get some hits on them.

"Mike and I just started pitching this year," he said. "These guys are going to be able to hit us, it doesn't matter if they are a little bit older. They have been playing for so long that they have seen way faster pitchers than us."

Oldtimers' second baseman Les Luciuk laughed when asked if the team was ever going to let Ecker live down his fifth inning gaff.

"And we lost a run there," he said still laughing.

Luciuk was more disappointed about how the game ended early than the loss.

"This is our second game of the year and we didn't hit the ball very well either," he said. "As we play a little more we here will hit the ball a little better. Game by game, I think we are improving."