PISGAH — All Luke Williams needed was one big inning.

 

Clarkdale plated all six runs in the top of the fifth as the Bulldogs got past Pisgah 6-2 in Game 1 of the MHSAA Class 2A Baseball South State Championship on Tuesday night.

 

Game 2 of the series is set for Thursday at Clarkdale at 7 p.m.

 

“It took us a minute to settle in a little bit with a great atmosphere and felt like we hadn’t played in a week, so we had to settle down,” said Clarkdale coach Josh Palmer. “Offensively we didn’t execute certain situations, but with two strikes we stayed within our approach and found ways to score runs.”

 

The game was scoreless until the fifth as Eli Swearingen hit a two-run single down the left field line to give Clarkdale a 2-0 lead.

 

Kason Albritton scored on a wild pitch, T.J. Gordon hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Swearingen, and the Bulldogs scored two more runs on a dropped fly ball in left field to give Clarkdale a 6-0 lead.

 

“We had the bunt on the first two strikes, and he didn’t it down, so Eli made me look good by getting the down the line and T.J. Gordon did the same thing, but came up with the sacrifice fly that changed the game,” Palmer said. “Luke struggled early with the zone being tight, but we challenged him more and he did a good job of throwing strikes with his breaking ball and sinkers in the middle innings was good for him. Get game one, now we got one more to go.”

 

The rest was history as Williams (9-2) pitched a complete game scattering four hits, two runs, and had 11 strikeouts for the Bulldogs (24-9).

 

“I didn’t really come out with the way I wanted to start, but we have a heckuva team. We had some good swings and great at-bats to get the job,” Williams said. “I just try to go out on the mound and give the best I can, and I did that. We’ve been here five years in a row and we feel like there’s a curse and this year we’re done with that, so we’re going to go home and get the job as done as a team.”

 

Ian Holliday (2-2) took the loss on the mound for Pisgah. The Dragons fell to 27-8.