DAYTONA BEACH -- It will only count as one victory. But it sure seemed like the Daytona Cubs were forced to defeat the Vero Beach Dodgers twice Friday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

The Cubs squandered a 7-1 fifth-inning lead, only to regain the lead -- and secure an 8-7 win -- when pinch-hitter J.J. Johnson delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.

"It was the story of two different ballgames," said Cubs manager Richie Zisk, whose team won its third straight. "You let a good ballclub hang around and they tend to come back. That's exactly what they did."

The Dodgers (7-8) scored six times in the last three innings, including a run in the ninth that, for the first time, tied a game that the Cubs controlled 6-0 after three innings.

But Daytona (8-6) opened the bottom of the ninth with consecutive singles by Scott Moore and Brian Dopirak. And Johnson smacked a one-out single up the middle off Mark Alexander to score Moore with the game-winner.

"I was ready for it," said Johnson, who was batting only .167 entering the game. "I was the only guy left on the bench, so once it looked like we might go extra innings I started getting ready then.

"I just tried to stay back and hit the ball hard somewhere."

The necessity of ninth-inning heroics seemed like a long shot early on. The Cubs got three-run homers from Dopirak and Kevin Collins in the first three innings, and rode a superb effort from pitching newcomer Sean Marshall.

The 6-foot-6 lefty, who was nursing a finger injury in the preseason and joined the team in Vero Beach last week, fired five strong innings in his Jackie Robinson debut and left with Daytona leading 6-1.

But the Dodgers chipped away against the Daytona bullpen, tagging three Cubs relievers for six runs.

"We just had too many pitches across the fat part of the plate," Zisk said. "You can't fault pitch selection, but you can fault the location."

There was little to fault with Marshall's outing -- his second in a Cubs' uniform and first at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Despite a shaky defense that made four errors behind him, he did not allow an earned run. He allowed five hits, fanned three and walked one.

"His performance tonight was much improved over his first appearance in Vero Beach (a three-inning effort in which he walked five and took the loss)," Zisk said. "He throws quality strikes, moves the ball around and has a good feel for pitching. He's a definite asset to any club he pitches for."

Another asset is Johnson.

, who has made a habit of providing the Cubs with offense when they need it the most.

" 'J.J. was probably our most consistent guy in the clutch last year," Zisk said. "I can't tell you the number of big RBI he knocked in last year, so it didn't surprise me he came through."

steve.master@news-jrnl.com