Panther Creek found themselves tied with Heritage at one apiece in the bottom of the seventh inning, but – to the surprise of no one – the Catamounts split the third baseman and shortstop for  a walk-off RBI single. Ross Moreau hit the game-winner to bring in Nathan Lee for the final run of the game. Panther Creek has had a knack for walk-offs all season, also winning in walk-off fashion against Apex and Green Hope. “It gives us a sense of optimism,” Moreau said of the team’s abundance of walk-offs. “We know that if we can stick around, then we can win it.” The Catamounts had to come back to earn their trip to the Eastern Regional Final; they found themselves in a 1-0 hole at the end of the fourth inning. The Catamounts quickly answered back, however, as Nathan Lee was able to score the game-tying run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The sixth inning, like the first three innings, was scoreless. During the last five innings, senior pitcher Josh Maciejewski (7 IP, 10 K, 4 H, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 ER) was fantastic. During the sixth inning, Maciejewski achieved what most pitchers have never done in their careers: he recorded four strikeouts in one inning. This occurs when a strike three is called, but the catcher does not cleanly field the pitch and then instead of tagging the runner out, the runner reaches. The strikeout is recorded, but the out is not. After Maciejewski held up his end of the bargain, the Catamount batters went to work. Nathan Lee was walked after being hit by the pitch to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Shortly after, Corey Wall bunted him to second before pinch hitter Eddy Scott bunted him to third with just one out. It was at that moment that Moreau, first in the batting order, ripped a line drive just out of reach of the Heritage shortstop to advance Lee home and give the Catamounts the 2-1 victory. “I smiled at the opportunity in front of me,” said Moreau of his game-winner. “I was just smiling the whole time I was up there because I knew I was gonna come through.” Panther Creek will face Millbrook on Friday in the Eastern Regional Finals; the winner will move on to play in the state semifinals. Millbrook and Panther Creek are both seeded second, so the tie-breaker for home field advantage will go in favor of Millbrook, who has the best overall record between the two teams. Ironically, the matchup is a rematch of the men’s basketball Eastern Regional Finals, in which Millbrook came away victorious; Maciejewski, a member of the men’s basketball team, will surely want revenge on the Wildcats when he is reunited with them, this time on the baseball field. The first pitch between the Catamounts and the Wildcats will be at 7:00 p.m.