Thompson’s Drake McBride belted a go-ahead two-run bomb in the fifth inning of a doubleheader nightcap and the second-ranked Warriors rallied to split a first-round playoff series with No. 8 Spain Park, losing 17-8 and winning 11-9, in Friday’s Class 7A matchup in Alabaster.

“It’s going to be a battle like that tomorrow and it’s supposed to be a battle like that,” Thompson coach Frankie Perez said. “I’m super proud of these guys. We get to sleep, come back tomorrow and play at least one more game.”

Thompson (27-10) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first inning in Game 2, scoring on a triple by D’Marion Terrell and an RBI pop-out from McBride, but James Battersby blasted a two-run triple for the Jaguars and scored on Chapman Blevins a sacrifice fly for a 3-2 Spain Park lead.

The Warriors added another run in the second and Spain Park increased its lead to 7-3 on a two-run single from Coleman Gray, along with two runs scored on a balk and wild pitch.

Thompson retook the lead in the next inning, scoring five runs on a wild pitch, an RBI single from Alex Jones, a two-run double by Bray Smith and a sacrifice fly from Troy commit Peryn Bland. The Jaguars tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a ground out that scored Aiden Berke.

Both teams scored a run in the fourth before McBride put the Warriors on top for good with a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the fifth. Spain Park had an opportunity to sweep the series with a walk-off in the seventh, but could not complete the rally with the tying runs on base.

Alabama commit Ma’Kale Holden pitched the win in the nightcap, allowing two runs on three hits while collecting five strikeouts. Cooper Cole took the loss for the Jaguars, allowing the winning runs off McBride’s home run.

Spain Park (26-11) started the hit parade in the opener, adding eight runs in the second inning to go up 9-0 on the Warriors. Sam Waldrop opened the scoring frenzy with an RBI single, followed by an RBI walk of Rhys Jones, a sac fly from South Alabama commit Matthew Wildra, a two-run single from Blevins and RBI singles by Berke and Waldrop.

The Warriors carved into the lead on a two-run double from Jones in the second, but Spain Park added another three runs in the third on a two-run homer from Widra and a hit batter bringing in the final run.

“We take every AB at a time,” Widra said. “Every AB is as important as the next one. As long as we get everyone up and taking quality pitches, we’ll be able to hit consistently.”

Spain Park scored five more times in the final two innings while Thompson forced a full seven innings with three runs in both the fifth and seventh frames. Christian Gross earned the win in the opener, allowing five runs on seven hits in five innings of work, and Thompson starter Wyatt Williams was tagged with the loss.

Star of the Game: McBride (Thompson) and Gray (Spain Park). The South Alabama commit (McBride) was 2-of-5 in the nightcap, scoring Terrell on a sacrifice pop-out, and put the Warriors ahead for good with a two-run blast in the top half of the fifth inning.

“We got a good group of guys and we’ve handled adversity all year. We got it done when we needed and our backs against the wall,” McBride said.

Meanwhile, Gray was 0-for-4 in the opener but went 2-of-4 with a two-run single in the nightcap. He totaled three RBIs and successfully stole four total bases in consecutive innings.

Stat sheet: Thompson – Terrell was 3-of-8 in the doubleheader with four RBIs and a triple and homerun, while Jones was a perfect 7-of-7 at the plate, totaling three RBIs with six singles and a double. Holden and Ethan Crook had solo homers in the night cap, the latter adding two RBIs in the opener, and Smith was 2-of-3 with a two-run double in Game 2. Spain Park – Every player that took an at-bat earned an RBI, with the exception of Andrew Thornton, and Widra and Blevins combined to go 4-of-15 with five RBIs in the doubleheader. Battersby was 3-of-5 in the night cap, including a two-run triple, and Waldrop was 3-of-4 in the opener.

Coachspeak: “I told them after Game 1, we’ve been where our backs are against the wall the entire season. These guys are used to that and this is playoff baseball, it’s supposed to be like this. I’m proud of our guys. They got some big hits.” — Thompson’s Frankie Perez

“That’s what we’ve done all year. Try to have collective good at-bats, back-to-back, and bunch them together. We were able to do that but we got to minimize and get off the field. We can’t give up a 5-spot. We can’t help them at all, they’re explosive enough.” — Spain Park’s Will Smith

What’s next: Thompson and Spain Park will meet in a deciding Game 3 on Saturday with the winner advancing to face top-ranked Bob Jones in the second round of the AHSAA playoffs.