LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — MANCHESTER—South White worked its way out of the loser’s bracket to set up a rematch with the team that put them there. South White and Corbin White were scheduled to play the finals of the loser’s bracket Friday in Manchester with the winner moving on to the district tournament.

Corbin White won the first meeting with South White 11-0. Since then South White rolled to a 14-4 win over Corbin Red and then held on for a thrilling 12-11 win over host Clay County Thursday.

South White never trailed Clay County and at times looked like it had another easy win. Instead the tying run was at third base when Eli Sizemore struck out the final batter to end a furious Clay County rally.

South White jumped on Clay County fast with a two-run first inning. Micah Anders led off the game with a triple and scored on an error. Sizemore walked and scored on a single by Alex Hostettler.

Clay County didn’t get a hit in its half of the first inning, but did tie the score with the help of four walks.

The South White bats stayed hot in the second inning with consecutive one-out singles from Carter Nelson, Harrison Byrd, and Anders. Sizemore walked to force in the tie-breaking run. Two more runs scored on a single by Conner McKeehan. An error allowed McKeehan to score and make it a 6-2 lead.

Clay County got one run back when J.L. Hubbard tripled and scored on a Jacob Maggard single.

Blake Mills took the mound in the second inning for Clay County and shut down South White for more than two innings. Mills retired the last two batters in the second inning and faced just three batters in the third and fourth innings. He got plenty of help from the defense. A flashy backhanded play by Conner Farmer stole a hit from Chance Wyatt in the third inning. After Hunter Johnson reached on an error, Clay County turned a double play.

Clay County rallied in the fourth inning to cut the lead to one. They could have had more.

Hubbard led off with his second triple of the night. Tyler Preston followed with a walk. Clay County tried to score Hubbard on a double steal, but he would be cut down at the plate. It was the second time Clay County failed on a double steal. With two outs, Justin Begley singled to score Preston.  A hard shot by Farmer was misplayed, allowing Begley to score and make it a 6-5 game.

The South White offense came back to life in the fifth inning. McKeehan led off with a double. A hard-luck night for Cameron Allen continued with Hunter Henson making a running catch of Allen’s line shot. It only delayed the South White surge.

Hostettler singled, followed by a two-run single for Wyatt. An infield single by Johnson and walk to Ford Breeding loaded the bases. Walks to Harrison Byrd and Anders forced in two more runs. Sizemore’s fly ball to right field allowed Johnson to tag from third for an 11-5 lead.

Clay County left the bases loaded in the fifth inning. South White pushed one more run across in the top of the sixth when Hostettler tripled and scored on a grounder by Johnson. It would prove to be a huge run.

Clay County’s rally started with a one-out triple by Farmer. Henson reached on an error, allowing Farmer to score. Mills followed with a walk. Jacob Hall mashed a double to drive in both runners. Raven Abner walked and Hubbard singled to load the bases.

There were two outs when Christian Jackson dropped a single down the right field line. All three runners scored to make it a 12-11 game. Jackson had moved to second on the throw home and third on a wild pitch.  He would be stranded there as Begley watched a call strike three that he thought was outside.

mhoward@sentinel-echo.com