Tiftarea Panthers players congratulate Grant Hall (right) after Hall's three-run walk-off home run gave Tiftarea an 8-5 win in game one Wednesday. Hall turned a double play to wrap up an 8-7 win in the nightcap.

CHULA, Ga. — Tiftarea Academy was ahead 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh inning of Wednesday’s baseball nightcap against Gatewood.

There were runners at first and third and one out. McRay Lentz was facing Cody Kauffman. Kauffman had been Tiftarea’s nightmare during this state quarterfinals. He had been on base every time he batted.

But this time, Kauffman hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop. Grant Hall fielded the ball on a bounce, stepped on second and threw across to Dawson Patterson at first.

The double play ended the game and wrapped up a Panthers sweep, sending the team to the GISA Class AAA final four. Tiftarea won the first game, 8-5, on Hall’s walk-off three-run home run.

Tiftarea head coach Chance Benson said Hall’s double play was huge.

“That ball was hit hard,” Benson said. “He had a smooth play.”

“It was perfect.”

Both contests were stress-filled, nail-biters from the first at-bat to the final one.

Visitors on the scoreboard for the second game, the Panthers went up 6-0 in the top half of the first, just to watch Gatewood get five runs back in the bottom half of the frame. The Gators tied the game in the fourth before Tiftarea posted single runs in the fifth and sixth. A single run crossed for Gatewood in the bottom of the sixth.

The Panthers got to Gatewood early, resulting in three different pitchers seeing action over the course of 11 batters. One was pulled in the middle of an at-bat.

Hall, Carter Stewart and Hunter Hartsfield began the game with three straight singles off Gatewood’s Dylan Humphries. Hall scored on Hartsfield’s hit, then the bases loaded when Cain Cooper was hit by a pitch.

Two runs scored on a throwing error off a grounder by Nate Fortson and when a Humphries wild pitch scored Jayk Sailer (running for Cooper), that was enough for head coach Lee Whatley. Thomas Davis came in with a 2-0 count on Casen Royal, who ultimately walked. Davis got two outs, but two more runs scored. Whatley then went with James Williamson, who secured the third out on a grounder to first.

Down six, Gatewood was certainly not out of it.

Tony Rudolph’s sacrifice fly scored Kauffman and with two outs, Reid Sasser and Jake McMillan walked. Consecutive hits by Josh McMillan, Drew Haley and Luke Haley brought the score to 6-5.

“I can’t give enough credit to the Gators,” said Benson. “They didn’t give up.”

Surprisingly, the game settled down after the wild first inning. Dawson Patterson, who came in in relief in the second inning, racked up four strikeouts in three innings of work. Williamson was just as tough on the Panthers.

Gatewood tied the game in the fifth when Kauffman came home on a single by Brayden Hill.

Tiftarea regained the lead in the fifth. Royal led off with a single and advanced to second on a walk. A balk moved both runners up a base, enough for Lentz’s ground ball to shortstop to be an RBI.

Patterson gave them what turned out to be a very important insurance run when his two-out single up the middle drove in Render Robbins.

The Panthers escaped the bottom half of the sixth by the skin of their teeth.

Lentz, who came on in the fifth in relief of Patterson, walked Kauffman. An error with one out put Hill aboard and with two outs, Jake McMillan walked.

Josh McMillan singled to left, immediately scoring Kauffman. Hill rounded third, but left fielder Brandon Prudhomme noticed he had a play at third. Prudhomme threw to Cooper at the third base bag and Walt Jarrett (running for Jake McMillan) was tagged out.

Hill had been near the plate at the time of the tag. The umpires huddled together and determined the tag on Jarrett came before Hill touched home. His run did not count and Tiftarea was still up 8-7.

Lentz got one out in the bottom of the seventh before an error, a wild pitch and an infield single put runners at the corners for the Gators.

Benson said he had faith in Lentz in the situation.

“He has come so far. He’s such a better baseball player,” Benson said. “I knew he’d give us a chance.”

TIFTAREA 8, GATEWOOD 5

Hall brought the first game to a close Wednesday when, with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, he sent a pitch just barely over the left field wall. The three-run shot was the first home run of his career.

The game between the schools had been back-and-forth all the way.

Rudolph doubled in Kauffman in the first inning and Gatewood went ahead 2-0 on a sacrifice fly by Luke Haley in the second.

Tiftarea came back with three runs in the bottom of the second, an error bringing in Royal and singles by Stewart and Hartsfield responsible for Grant and Hall.

Both teams scored two in the fourth, a pair of errors allowing Jake McMillan and Reid Sasser to score. Tiftarea’s runs were on a Hartsfield single and a sac fly by Fortson.

Kauffman’s double in the sixth squared the contest at five runs each.

The Panthers saw Prudhomme and Lentz walk with one out. Gatewood almost escaped after a flyout became out No. 2, but Hall had other plans.

The Gators almost had another run in the seventh, one that had more consequences than an out. Cooper Hall was tagged out at home on a Prudhomme throw from right field to Hartsfield behind the plate. Hall’s reaction after the tag resulted in him being thrown out of the game by an umpire.

GISA rules state a player that has been thrown out cannot play in the next game. Hall started on the mound in the opener and was Gatewood’s clean-up hitter.

Benson had praise up and down the lineup, from Prudhomme’s defense to Patterson’s pitching performance and clutch hit. Patterson and Lentz pitched in both games.

Hartsfield was 6-of-8 at the plate over the series and drove in three runs. Fortson drove in three runs as well.

Tiftarea will have to wait and see who their opponent will be in the final four. John Milledge Academy takes on Frederica Academy, with games split over Friday and Saturdy.