By Stan Caldwell/Sports Writer

PETAL — This was playoff baseball in all of its messy glory.

You had two good teams battling toe-to-toe – one trying to complete a series sweep, the other trying to extend its season one more day – in a contest that was sometimes sloppy, occasionally sublime, and always exciting, from the first pitch to the last.

When it was over, it was home-standing Petal that came out on top, taking a thrilling 5-4 victory in eight innings over Gulfport in the second game of the Class 7A second-round playoffs at Panther Field.

The win completed a sweep of the best-of-three game series for Petal (21-12), as the Panthers move on to the South State finals against Region 3-7A rival Brandon. Game 1 of that series is scheduled for Friday at Brandon. The Admirals finished their season 18-15.

“That’s baseball,” said Gulfport coach Myles Gentry. “They got the hit when they needed it. We left runners on base early, guys at third in three innings and didn’t get the hit we needed. The ball didn’t fall the right way for us.”

Petal took the first game of the series 13-3 in five innings Saturday at Gulfport, but the clincher was a different story.

“I liked the other game better,” said Petal coach Connor Douglas. “Easier on my heart. But these guys compete their tails off. They flipped the switch these playoffs, and we’re so proud of all of them.”

Senior Dawson Dykes delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the eighth with two out to send the Panthers into the state semifinals.

Unlike the first game, Gulfport had plenty of chances to put runs on the board, but they left runners on in critical situations, and that came back to hurt the Admirals in the end.

The Admirals drew first blood, however, pushing an unearned run across in the top of the first inning.

Sophomore James Van Slyke sent the first pitch of the game off Petal senior left-hander Cooper Smith for a single, took second on a ground ball to third, advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored on an infield error.

It was the first of four Panther miscues that resulted in three unearned runs for Gulfport.

Petal answered in the bottom of the second with a three-run rally off Admiral senior right-hander Thomas Stennis.

Senior John Lindsey and senior Chad opened the inning with back-to-back singles, then sophomore Riels Holder was hit by a pitch with one out to load the bases.

Dykes brought two runs home on an infield error, then senior Trey Barnes made it 3-1 with a single into leftfield.

However, Stennis got a pair of strikeouts to keep the score right there. He also faced trouble of his own making in the third, as Petal loaded the bases with three hit batters. But Stennis induced an inning-ended flyout to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard.

“It wasn’t working too good for me at the start,” said Stennis. “But once I got past that third inning, I kind of got in a groove.

“It was just a mix of things. The dew on the mound affected me; I just had to get used to it. I worked through it and settled in. We just made too many mistakes early. We had the chances; we just didn’t capitalize.”

Gulfport rallied to tie it up in the top of the fourth, scoring two more unearned runs, thanks to a pair of Panther errors.

Senior Brodie Hignight beat out an infield single to lead off the inning, then freshman Eli Carter reached on an error.

Senior Bash Plummer sacrificed the runners over, then senior Dan Sullivan hit a slow roller in the hole between shortstop and third base. The only play was an attempt to get the trailing runner at third, but the throw was high allowing the tying run to score.

Sullivan was sacrificed to third, but the throw to first was high, and it appeared that Sullivan scored the go-ahead run. However, on appeal, it was ruled he failed to touch home plate and he was called out. Smith then got a strikeout to end the inning.

“We had plenty of opportunities, and we wish we could have capitalized,” said Gentry. “Kudos to the arm that started for them. He made pitches when he had to, and they are going to be a tough team to beat.”

And 3-3 was how it stayed through three scoreless innings. After three trips through the Admiral batting order, Douglas pulled Smith in favor of senior Easton Giger with two outs in the fifth and two runners on.

A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, but Giger got a groundout to keep the game tied.

“(Smith) was right around 100 pitches,” said Douglas. “He’d thrown great all night, and they were at the top of the order. Easton has been great out of the bullpen closing games for us. We wanted to win this one, win it at home, so we went with our next best guy.”

Smith allowed three runs on five hits, he struck out four and walked one.

Stennis, meanwhile, cruised through the late innings, helped by a base-running mistake by the Panthers in the sixth, after senior Nathan Garner beat out an infield single but was caught off the bag when a sacrifice attempt went awry for a double play.

Stennis pitched around a one-out walk in the seventh, and left the game after throwing 118 pitches. He allowed five hits, struck out nine and walked two.

“I could not have asked for a better high school career,” said Stennis. “I think I had 175 strikeouts for my career, both as a relief pitcher, and then I had to take on a starting role late in the season. It’s been great, nothing but amazing.”

Giger (2-0) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, but ran into trouble in the eighth after one was out. Carter drew a walk, stole second and scored on a seeing-eye single up the middle off the bat of Sullivan.

Gentry went with sophomore Mason Little for the save, but two free passes cost him dearly.

“Stennis did his job,” said Gentry. “I couldn’t be more proud of him. Mason came in and threw strikes. They just got the hit at the right time.”

With one out, freshman Tripp Lee, pinch-hitting for Cahill, was hit by the first pitch he saw from Little. Sophomore Landry Stringfellow came on to pinch-run, and he quickly stole second.

Little (2-2) got a strikeout for the second out of the inning, but the ball got away from the catcher, and Stringfellow went to third on the passed ball. Holder drew a four-pitch walk, and the third ball was a wild pitch that allowed Stringfellow to score the tying run.

Sophomore Cade Hensarling was brought out to run for Holder, and he stole second, setting the stage for Dykes’ final heroics.

Dykes took a 2-2 pitch into left-centerfield for an opposite-field single, and Hensarling beat a good throw from the outfield, sliding home with the winning run.

Gulfport turned its season around midway through the year, and made a nice run in the postseason before coming up short against Petal.

“It was up and down,” said Gentry. “At the midway point, we struggled a little bit, but as the season went on in district play, we turned some things around.

“We had a big sweep of D’Iberville, and had a good series win against Oak Grove. I thought we played well tonight. I wouldn’t say we played well at our place in Game 1, but we gave it all we had tonight.”