After years of dominating baseball in the AISA, Glenwood is one win away from its first state title in the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

The second-ranked Gators scored four times in the top of the seventh and knocked off No. 5 Gordo 7-4 on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Class 3A championship series at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park.

The series shifts to Jacksonville State on Wednesday with Game 2 set for 4 p.m. at Jim Case Stadium. Game 3 would follow if the Green Wave can even the series.

“There was never a doubt in my mind we were going to come back,” Glenwood starting pitcher Tyler Sykes said. “We’ve done it all year from Game 1 to whatever game this is.”

Glenwood (34-5) trailed 4-1 after four innings. However, the Gators closed the gap with two runs in the fifth, setting the stage for the comeback win in the seventh. Logan Henderson walked with one out, turning the lineup over to leadoff man Mason McCraine with Gordo starting pitcher Ford Hewitt running out of pitches.

“We knew coming out of the fifth that the pitch count was probably going to get him and also knew we would probably roll back to the top of their lineup in the seventh,” Gordo coach Jonathan Pate said. “We were hoping we could get two outs before he ran out of pitches and McCraine came up. It just didn’t quite happen.”

McCraine singled up the middle, putting the go-ahead run on base and ending Hewitt’s day. Jase Neel relieved him.

“You have to give them a lot of credit,” Glenwood coach Tim Fanning said. “The had a good strategy to throw a soft-tossing lefty, and it worked. It kept us off balance, and we hit it in the air too many times. He finally ran out of pitches, and we got to them a little bit.”

Neel hit the first batter he faced, Hudson Campbell, to load the bases. Carter Judah then hit a high chopper over third base for a 2-run single and a 5-4 Gator lead. Levi Pinder followed him with a 2-run triple to deep centerfield.

“He threw me three straight fastballs,” Pinder said. “I don’t think I’ve seen that all year. I was able to turn on one and hit it well.”

Gordo (28-16) was able to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Sykes got Noah McDaniel to ground out to third to end the game. Sykes threw 109 pitches, struck out 8 and walked 4. He allowed 5 hits.

Key stats: Glenwood – McCraine was 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored and a pair of intentional walks. Pinder was 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Gordo – Brooke was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Hewitt pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just 4 hits. He struck out just 1 and walked 4.

Did you know? Glenwood won 10 state titles in the AISA. The Gators are playing in the 3A title game in their inaugural season in the AHSAA.

They said it:

“I thought we hit some balls on the nose that were caught. When you play on a big ball field, there is a lot of area to cover. We preached all week to keep it out of the air. We finally hit one on the ground and it got over the third baseman’s head.” – Fanning on Judah’s go-ahead single.

“It’s part of the game. You take what they give you and move on.” – McCraine on if he was frustrated by being intentionally walked twice.

“I thought Ford did what we asked him to do. He kept them off balance. The pitch count got him at the end. There were a few plays that if we make them, it might have changed his pitch count, but that is baseball. I thought it was a really good game overall.” – Pate.

“I feel good. We went three games in three rounds this year. We’ve got each other’s backs. I feel good about our chances.” – Neel on his team’s mindset heading into Wednesday.