With Lindsay Lane and Vincent scoreless in the bottom of the fifth inning in an elimination playoff game, junior Alex Cook took a 1-1 pitch and punched it deep into left field to ignite a four-run inning to secure another day of baseball for the Lions.

“At first, he beat me to one side and then I was able to get under it,” Cook said. “It really helped us out.”

The fifth-inning two-run double provided all the momentum needed in the nightcap as seventh-ranked Lindsay Lane and the ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets split a playoff doubleheader, 3-0 and 4-3, in Tuesday’s semifinal matchup at Vincent.

A deciding game will be played Wednesday with first pitch set for 4:30 p.m.

“We were told all week they had the (Ray) Anderson kid and he was going to be real tough,” Vincent coach Tim Junkins said. “We knew coming in that Game 1 was going to be a battle. He’s really good but we got a guy who is also really good and went toe-to-toe with him.”

The opener saw a battle of aces, both staffs unleashing their mound commanders, and Vincent’s Aiden Poe ultimately claimed the victory. The sophomore went the distance in throwing a three-hit shutout while striking out seven.

“I was hoping we would go ace versus ace in Game 1: Anderson vs. Poe,” Lindsay Lane coach Charles Morrison said. “They’ve both had phenomenal years. He (Poe) battled today, didn’t make any mistakes and we had a difficult time moving runners.”

Lindsay Lane’s Ray Anderson took the loss after allowing three runs — all unearned — off six hits and striking out nine. He would also start the second game of the doubleheader but was pulled after 2 2/3 innings of work due to pitch count.

The Yellow Jackets (29-5) got all they needed in the first two innings as Poe sat down the order in the final four innings.

University of Montevallo signee Zac Carlisle led off the bottom of the first with a single and was brought home three batters later on an RBI single by Camden Cobb. Poe got a lead-off single in the second inning, Raymond Albright and Zack Wright reached on errors to load the bases, and James Gaseway was hit by a pitch to score Poe.

Carlisle capped the scoring on a sacrifice fly following the walked run to give Vincent a 3-0 lead heading into the third inning. The Lions managed two hits in the inning, but got nothing else the rest of the way.

“We threw our No. 1 and they threw theirs,” Junkins added. “The first game was about what we expected. We made a few key hits where they didn’t and put it in play, they made a few mistakes, and we got some runs.”

In the nightcap, Anderson received the start, but was shelved due to pitch count after grabbing two strikeouts and throwing a one-hit shutout in 2 2/3 innings of work.

“We feel confident in our pitching staff,” Morrison said. “We go about 5 or 6 guys deep. We chose to start Anderson again. I hated to be in a situation where were going to be eliminated from the state playoffs in the semifinals when I had our ace over there with 40 pitches left. He was hot today, he was warm and he wanted the ball.”

Benjamin Frasier took the mound with two outs in the top of the third and allowed a single before a groundout ended the inning. The senior earned the win by allowing three earned runs off three hits with four walks and two strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of work.

“The second guy they threw came out competing and kept us off balance,” Junkins said. “We’ll regroup and feel confident coming into tomorrow. We got some left in the tank.”

Neither team was able to muster much offense in the first four innings, although Lindsay Lane (29-10) threatened in the fourth after loading the bases with one out. The Lions’ Jackson Carter grounded into a fielder’s choice, taking out the lead runner, and a flyout from Bryson Looney brought an end to the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Lions struck quickly scoring four runs out of the top of the order. Cleanup hitter Lane Jones led off with a single, scoring later on a wild pitch, and consecutive walks loaded the bases for Cook, who drove a two-run double into left field for a 3-0 lead. Following back-to-back flyouts, Trey Perkins brought home the final run for Lindsay Lane on an RBI single.

“It really helped us with our momentum,” Cook said. “I feel really confident coming into tomorrow. We’re going to do what we came here to do.”

Vincent was able to jumpstart a rally in the sixth inning as Casen Fields walked to lead off. Cobb stroked a single two batters later and a walk of Grayson Gulde loaded the bases with only one out.

Poe got the rally started in earnest on an RBI single, scoring Fields, and Zack Wright and Gaseway were both walked to score the other two runs. Carlisle sat down Lindsay Lane in the final inning, but the Yellow Jackets were unable to complete the comeback after flying out three straight times after Fields reached on an error to open the inning.

Carlisle was tagged with the loss in allowing four earned runs off five hits while walking four walks striking out four.

Lindsay Lane seeks to return to the state title game after falling to Bayshore Academy in the Class 1A finals last season and Vincent looks for its first appearance in the finals since the 2002 season.