David Elwell, The Decatur Daily

FALKVILLE – The Spring Garden Panthers scored the game-winning runs in their final at-bats Friday night, earning a wild Class 2A baseball playoff doubleheader sweep at Falkville.

The Panthers swept the Blue Devils by identical scores of 11-10. The first game went eight innings. Spring Garden was the home team in Game 2 and scored the tying and winning runs on a double by Andrew Bates.

Spring Garden advances to play Mars Hill, which swept Lamar County.

Falkville looked to be in good shape in Game 2 for forcing a Game 3 on Saturday. The Blue Devils scored six runs in the top of the sixth to take a 10-5 lead. They needed just six more outs, but they would prove to be elusive.

Spring Garden scored a run in the bottom of the sixth and then five in the bottom of the seventh to win it. The winning run scored with one out.

This is the third straight time that Spring Garden has eliminated Falkville in the playoffs. The first two times it was in the second round. Spring Garden won last year in three games and swept Falkville in two games in 2019. There was no state tournament in 2020 due to COVID.

Falkville’s Game 2 rally started with a one-out base hit by Lawson Tew. It was aided by five walks and one hit batter. The big hit was a two-run double by Caden Burnett.

Burnett went a combined 7-for-10 with five RBIs and five runs scored in the doubleheader.

The opening game was a see-saw battle decided in the eighth inning when Spring Garden’s Reece Winstead drove in the game-winning run. Winstead went 3-for-6 with a double and three RBIs.

Chapel Pope led the Panthers by going 4-for-5 with a double, a walk, two runs and three RBIs. Chaz Pope went 3-for-4 with two walks, two runs and a RBI. Bates added a pair of hits and a pair of runs. Andrew Floyd also had a pair of hits with a run.

Cam Welsh delivered a hit, three walks and a run. Gavin Bass had a hit, a walk, a run and a RBI. Landon Gowens finished with a hit, two runs and a RBI.

Gowens also earned the win in relief of Welsh. He tossed 2 1/3 innings, giving up just one hit with three walks and five strikeouts.

Falkville trailed 7-4 in the middle of the third inning, but led 10-8 after five innings. Spring Garden added single runs in the sixth and seventh to force extra innings.

The teams combined in Game 1 for 30 hits with just four extra base hits, 25 strikeouts and 16 walks.