THOMASVILLE — As a fly ball off the bat of Kaleb Carter soared into center field, Thomas County Central’s baseball team held its collective breath.

It was a potential knock that could keep destiny in the Yellow Jackets’ hands, or it could be a running catch that would send Game 2 of Friday night’s doubleheader against Veterans into extras — after Central scored three in the final inning to tie the game.

After seconds that felt like minutes, the ball finally fell onto the outfield grass after passing over the head of Veterans center fielder Derek Wylie, and the Yellow Jackets secured the thrilling 10-9 walk-off comeback win over the Warhawks.

With the victory, which came right after a 7-1 defeat in Game 1, Central now has a clear path to the Region 1-5A championship if it can at least split a doubleheader with Harris County on April 14. 

“These guys compete, and as a coach, that’s all you can ask for,” Central baseball coach Chad Parkerson said. “It makes me very proud that I coach a bunch of kids that have that competitive drive.” 

Down 9-6 headed into the bottom of the seventh, Central began its most pivotal inning of the season to date in earnest, when RJ Delaney was hit by a pitch. After Zach Fletcher singled and Pace Mercer was hit, the Yellow Jackets had the bases loaded with nobody out. 

Brandon Slocumb then stepped in and delivered a double to left, scoring two and inching the Jackets closer at 9-8 with runners on second and third. 

Hunter Humphries reached on an infield hit to load the bases once again. After Nick Herndon was called out on an infield fly, Jackson NeSmith tied the game with a single to left. After a popup, Veterans was one out away from sending the game to the eighth, before Carter delivered his season-altering hit. 

“It wasn’t really nerve-racking,” Carter said. “I’ve been in that situation before. I saw that fastball he gave me and I drove it.”

The seventh wasn’t the only time Central tied the game. Down 3-0 in the second, Mercer took a bases loaded walk to score Carter, which was followed by a two-run double from Humphries. The game was knotted at 3-3 only briefly, as Veterans scored five in the third to take a commanding 8-3 advantage.

After Central scored one in the fifth, the home half of the sixth set up the game’s thrilling ending, as Doug Smith hit a double to score two runs, narrowing the lead to 8-5. The Warhawks added one more run in the top half of the seventh, but the Yellow Jackets were able to overcome the three-run hole.

Game 1

In their first game of the night, the Yellow Jackets fell victim to a decisive five-run fifth inning after a solid start. 

Central scored their only run of the contest in the second inning. With one out, Fletcher reached and made it to second on a fielding error on Veterans right fielder Jacob Giles. Mercer made the Warhawks pay for that mistake, driving in Fletcher for Central’s only lead of the ballgame in the next at-bat.

Veterans tied the game in the top of the third after the Warhawks’ Leyton Pinckney tripled to deep center field, and was brought in by a single from Bryce Brazil.

Central was able to get out of more potential trouble in the fourth by turning a double play, catching a runner in a rundown between second and third. However, in the fifth, the Yellow Jackets’ own mistakes contributed to a big inning for Veterans.

With runners on first and second and no outs, Central could not field a popup in foul territory for what would have been the first out. The Warhawks proceeded to load the bases and scored on  a sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead.

Veterans followed that up with two RBI hits, also taking advantage of a walk and a wild pitch to extend their lead to 6-1 going into the sixth. The Warhawks scored their last run in the top of the seventh on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch.

Smith got the start for the Yellow Jackets in Game 1, striking out four over four innings of work. Delaney made his varsity debut in the sixth, striking out two of the three batters he faced.