The leaders in the clubhouse sat on a small hillock above the 18th green at Pilgrim's Oak, watching the last foursomes finish, when the possibility of a sudden-death playoff was raised.

"I'm going to need to take more Advil!" cracked Chris Fieger who, with his son Christopher Jr., finished seven shots under par.

As it turned out the anti-inflammatory was anticlimactic.

Shawn Baker rolled in a 4-foot birdie putt, and he and his playing partner Zak Drescher came from five shots off the pace to claim the Lanco Susquehanna Bank Men's Better Ball Championship with an 8-under 66-70-136.

The Fiegers, whose 65 tied First Flight champions Craig and Brandan Hartranft for low round of the day, finished 72-65-137.

Jud Gemmill and Andy Brightbill, who shot 33 on the back nine to finish 69-69-138, claimed third by tie-breaker over Andrew Arnold and Brent Pickell and Derek McCarthy and Brandon Gingerich, both with 67-71-138s.

First-day leaders Corey Gast and K.J. Stutz were a 3-over 75 on the day to finish sixth at 63-75-138.

Perservance was the watchword of the day for Baker and Drescher who, playing with Gast and Stutz in the final foursome, bogeyed the second and third holes to fall five shots off the pace.

"We just kept saying, 'We gotta hang tough,' " Baker said. "We knew, with the wind blowing and pins [located] where they were, there were bogeys out there for everybody in the the field.

"If we could just get back to even par before the turn and not lose ground to the leaders ... ," Baker said," which is exactly what we did."

Drescher birdied Nos. 5 and 7 to regain lost ground while Gast and Stutz toured the front nine even par.

Meanwhile, six holes ahead, the Fiegers were going birdie-birdie-par-birdie over No. 13 through No.16 to pull within a stroke of the lead.

When Chris Fieger dropped in an eagle putt on No. 18, the lead was theirs.

Back on No. 10, Baker and Drescher bogeyed, but matched par on Nos. 11 and 12, holes that, Drescher observed, "played brutal."

"Three of the hardest holes I've played in consecutive order," said Baker, who saved par with a 20-footer from below the hole on No. 12 while Stutz and Gast bogeyed Nos. 11 and 12.

Baker birdied No. 13 and Drescher did likewise on No. 14, and they had forged a tie with Gast and Stutz.

By then the Fiegers were in the clubhouse and the groups still out had become aware of their success.

"We heard [minus] seven was in," Baker said. "[And] we knew we had at least a share of the lead."

"We knew we were in contention," added Drescher, who is one semester short of his degree from Campbell University and has completed his college eligibility.

Gast and Stutz bogeyed No. 16 — and would bogey No. 17 — while Drescher drained an 8-footer for par and the lead going into No. 17.

They scored par there to go two up and knew they held their fate.

"If we parred in, we're in a playoff," Baker said. "If we can make birdie, we win."

No. 18 was an adventure, at least for Drescher, who struggled up the right side.

Baker, in turn, nailed a driver and then a 5-iron, pin high, just to the right of the green. He chipped on, leaving himself a 4-footer for the win.

"I was more nervous watching him putt the last one than if I was over it," Drescher said. "I didn't want to watch."

"He didn't know how nervous I was," laughed Baker. "That's the most nervous I've ever been."

Nerves? What nerves? Baker rolled it in like a Wednesday morning outing.

"I haven't played in a Lanco event in maybe four years," Baker said. "[Zak] was kind enough to say he'd play with me, and to have a player like him as a partner was really a lot of fun."

In the First Flight the Hartranfts birdied No. 6 and eagled No. 7, then birdied Nos. 13 through 16 to win by four strokes, 74-65-139, over Mike Atkins and John Obert, who finished 70-73-143.

First-round leaders David Erb and Brett Kendig shot to 68-76-144 to finish fifth.

In the Second Flight, Ralph Sexton and Clair Bieler maintained their lead to win wire-to-wire, 74-78-152. David Royer and Karl Gochenauer, who shot a Second Flight low of 77 on Saturday, placed second at 87-77-155.

dbyrne@lnpnews.com