As the final out was recorded and sophomore center fielder Kyle Evert caught the ball to clinch the Region 4-AAAAA championship, his teammates couldn’t have been happier.

“Kyle caught it and everyone just went wild,” Panther senior outfielder Blain Williamson said. “People jumped the fence, ran onto the field, and stormed Richie [Post]. It was just the best feeling in the world at that moment.”

Post was on the mound after coming on in relief in the fourth inning down 3-1. Playing in a best-of-three series at Union Grove, junior pitcher J.D. Masters got the start in the deciding Game 3. He allowed three runs in three innings and one out.

“J.D. threw the ball well,” head coach Brent Moseley said. “Richie came in and we battled back and once we got the lead, I think we were OK.”

Senior outfielder Eric Sutliff tied the game with a two RBI single in the fifth inning and junior catcher Joe Gruszka gave the Panthers the lead for good after hitting a line drive to left field, scoring two, to increase their lead to 5-3.

However, Union Grove put some offense together in the bottom of the seventh, scoring one run with runners on first and second with two outs.

“I was so nervous,” Post said. “I couldn’t think of anything else except for getting that last out. There were a couple times where I thought they were going to get another run before I got that last out. I mean, I couldn’t stop shaking that entire night after the game.”

Before the deciding Game 3, the Panthers won the series opener, 8-1, with a strong performance from senior pitcher and third baseman Adam Goodman, who only threw 87 pitches in a complete game.

“Last year I didn’t pitch my best against them, and they hit me pretty well,” Goodman said. “I had a little fire under myself and told myself not to let it happen again and just to do my best. Fortunately, we had good defense and good hitting.”

The Panthers were on the other end of the spectrum in second game of the doubleheader, losing 9-2 and ending their season-high, 16-game win streak, setting the stage for the pivotal Game 3.

“We had some pitching struggles and we made some errors,” Williamson said. “We just didn’t play our kind of baseball. We’re all going to have bad days sometimes, and we did a good job bouncing back. It’s for the region championship, so at this stage, you expect people to be able to hit well.”

The Panthers start their state championship journey at 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 1, at home against South Effingham County. The Mustangs finished the year 18-7 in second place in Region 3-AAAAA but lost early in the region tournament. Losing when they did knocked them down to the fourth seed from division, giving them a three-game series with the Panthers.

“They really should be the two-seed in that region,” Moseley said. “They have three college players, two Division I commits and one Division II pitcher. It’s going to be a challenge for us [in the] first round. If we pitch and play defense, we’ll be all right.”