By STAN CALDWELL/Sports Writer

ELLISVILLE — For the first half-inning, Vancleave looked like it was ready to storm right into the South State finals.

Then South Jones came to bat and the night started unravelling in a hurry for the Bulldogs. The Braves rode their big bats and dominant pitching for a 12-4 victory Monday night at Braves Field, evening the Class 5A quarterfinal round series at a game apiece.

The third and deciding game of the best-of-three game series will be played at 6 p.m. Tuesday night at Vancleave. The defending state champion Bulldogs will carry a 27-7 record in the deciding contest; South Jones improved to 24-7.

“After the top of the first, we come out and give up two runs in the bottom of the inning,” said Vancleave coach Zac Haarala. “Then we go back out and their guy has a quick one in the top of the second, and he kind of settled in.

“I thought he was really good all night. Give that guy credit; give them all credit. They beat us in every facet of the game tonight.”

Vancleave jumped all over Braves senior left-hander Micah Coutta right from the opening pitch, which Bulldog senior Max Bates hit into a hard-luck error on a slow roller to shortstop.

Senior Aidan Tapp was hit by a pitch, then senior Hunter Harper unexpectedly bunted into no man’s land between third base and the mound, and Coutta simply had to eat the ball. Just like that, the Bulldogs were in business with the bases loaded.

Senior Martin Shaw reached on a high chopper in the hole at second, driving in a run, junior Conner Mitchell singled on a slow roller to third for another run, senior Jaxon Albert beat out a grounder to short, and junior Kyle Capers drew a bases-loaded walk with two out.

In all, the Bulldogs scored four runs and didn’t hit a single ball out of the infield. They seemed poised for more, with the top of the batting order coming back up, but Bates grounded to first, leaving the bases loaded.

“I was about to come up to the deck here and eat a little bit,” said South Jones coach Mason Triplett. “But no, we couldn’t hit the panic button there. I think that’s something we’ve done in the past against them.

“Tonight, we showed some resiliency. I could be more proud of these guys for stepping up to the challenge.”

The Braves wasted no time getting right back in the game. Junior Dane McElroy started for Vancleave, and South Jones senior Dylan Causey sent his third pitch of the game back through the box for a leadoff single.

A walk, a flyball to deep centerfield, a steal and a hit batter loaded the bases, and senior Cayden Kinmon got two runs home with a double to the wall in left-centerfield.

McElroy (6-4) minimized the damage in the first, but he ran into more trouble in the second inning, surrendering an infield error and a two-run home run off the bat of Causey to tie it up.

McElroy’s night was done after he gave up four runs in the third on a two-run double by senior Benjamin Thompson and a two-run single by Causey, all coming after a leadoff triple by junior Eyan Butler.

“That’s kind of uncharacteristic of (McElroy),” said Haarala. “But it is what it is. It’s baseball.”

On the flip side, Coutta came off the ropes in impressive fashion, retiring the next 16 batters he faced.

“He threw three pitches for strikes,” said Haarala. “He threw a lot of fastballs for strikes. I thought it had a lot of inside run. Then he could flip the breaking ball in there, and he threw a really good change-up. He was just better than us tonight.”

Despite throwing 38 pitches in the first inning, Coutta (4-0) made it to the seventh inning before allowing a leadoff walk. He got one more strikeout, giving him 11 for the night, then came out after 114 pitches.

“We started out good, then we let him settle in a little bit,” said Harper. “We’ve just got to be more competitive at the plate. The fastball was, like, 83, 84 (mph) on the gun, but I think it was playing a little faster. And he was just landing his off-speed.”

Junior right-hander Logan Langley finished the job for the Braves with a pair of called third strikes to end the game.

“Micah’s been big for us all year long,” said Triplett. “I couldn’t be prouder of that guy. He stepped up when we desperately needed it.”

The Braves tacked on a run in the fourth on a solo homer by Kinmon, who added two doubles for four RBIs on the night. Three more runs came home on the fifth, and the Braves had the bases loaded in the sixth but were unable to get to the run-rule.

Causey also drove in four runs for South Jones with two singles and his home run, and Thompson had a double and a single with two RBIs.

Harper is expected to get the ball for Tuesday’s deciding third game, and the Bulldogs hope he can replicate his performance in Friday’s series opener, a one-hit shutout in a 1-0 victory at Vancleave.

Haarala was noncommittal about whether Harper would get the ball on short rest, but Triplett said he expects Harper to again match up with Causey, the Braves’ ace, who was almost as good as Harper on Friday, allowing just two hits.

“We’re going to flush this; we’ll be good,” said Harper. “We’re going to have a good start tomorrow, whoever it is, and we’ll be fine. I’d like the ball, but that’s up to the coach.”

Tuesday’s winner will get the survivor of the other remaining series in 5A between East Central and Florence, which is also headed to a third game on Tuesday.