By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

VANCLEAVE — The last time Vancleave faced an elimination game in the state playoffs Vancleave ended up winning the Class 5A state championship.

Monday night, the Bulldogs hope to just keep a chance to defend that title alive.

Vancleave hosts Brookhaven at 7 p.m., in game three of the Class 5A South State opening round playoff series. The two teams split the first two games causing the need for Monday’s rubber match.

“We did what we had to to squeak out a win game one and just didn’t show up and play our brand of baseball game two.” first-year VHS head coach Zac Haarala said. “No matter how good or bad your regular season was everybody started this past week 0-0 and that’s the beauty of the playoffs. We’ve got to show up game three with a little sense of urgency and start fast.”

On Friday night in Vancleave, senior southpaw standout Hunter Harper hurled the home team to a 5-1 win. Harper struck out seven and scattered five hits while walking none in the complete game performance to take the win.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth, when the Panthers got their only run off of Harper to go up 1-0. But the Bulldogs bounced back immediately with a five run rally all with two outs in the bottom of the frame to secure the win.

Aidan Tapp’s three run triple was the big blow in the uprising for Vancleave.

Harper helped himself offensively also, as he collected a game-high three hits including a triple and a double and drove in a run in the winning attack. Tapp’s trio of RBIs were also a game-high mark.

On Saturday, however, Brookhaven staved off elimination with a home win of its own thanks to a strong outing on the pitchers mound from one of its hurlers.

Brayden Wilson worked into the sixth stanza, striking out seven and allowing just four singles to pick up the win. Mason White recorded the last two outs to get the save.

The Panthers overcame an early 1-0 deficit to pull out the win, after Martin Shaw drove in a run for Vancleave in the top of the first.

Dane McElroy worked almost six innings and took the loss for VHS. Brookhaven got to him for a pair of runs in bottom of the third to take a lead it would never relinquish.