Bob Jones rallied behind Braden Booth’s three-hitter on Friday to beat top-ranked Thompson 7-0 to win the second game of a Class 7A quarterfinal state playoff game in Madison. The win forces a deciding Game 3 on Saturday at 1 p.m. after Thompson’s 9-6 win in the opening game of the doubleheader.

Booth, a junior Mississippi State commitment, had eight strikeouts for the fifth-ranked Patriots (36-11). He finished by striking out the side in the bottom of the seventh. Thompson’s Zach Wyatt took the loss.

“I pitched a lot of them backwards, tried to stay on the outside half of the plate,” said Booth, who improved to 7-1 on the season. “A lot of them have power, can pull balls anywhere, so I tried my best to compete.”

All three of his pitches – slider, curveball and fastball – were working against the 35-6 Warriors. “We just kept them off-balance whole game,” Booth said.

Bob Jones second baseman Jacob Pearl, batting ninth in the lineup, went 3-for-3 with two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored.

“We’re still playing. After we lost Game 1, our goal was to get it to Saturday,” Bob Jones coach Jared Smith said. “We like our chances. We think we match up with them well.

“And Braden did a heck of a job to get us to Game 3.”

The Patriots will start senior left-hander Ben Arn in the deciding game while Thompson is expected to start Ashton Blair.

“It’s a battle between two very good teams,” Thompson second-year coach Frankie Perez said. “We were able to beat their No. 1 Sam Mitchell (in Game 1) and their Mississippi State commit Booth was able to take care of business for them in second game. No one said it was going to be easy. You just got to win two out of three.”

Landon Alton led the Warriors in the opener, striking out four with two walks in 5.1 innings. The Marion Military Institute signee allowed six runs on eight hits. Carter Thompson earned the save.

Leadoff hitter Ethan Crook had a pair of hits with a double and scored twice for the Warriors while Peryn Bland homered.

“I didn’t have my best day, but my teammates picked me up at the plate,” Alton said.

Nathan Mayfield homered and Alabama commitment Mitchell took the loss for the Patriots, dropping to 10-2 on the season.