Lefko simply made the biggest play of the game — maybe of East’s season — in the first inning to give a slow-starting Hatley a second chance. Hatley (10-2) made the most of his mulligan, settling in to toss a nine-strikeout, one-walk gem at the Red Raiders, the No. 2 seed from the Southwestern Conference.

Hatley, who hadn’t pitched in eight days, gave up a two-base rope to Chris Ensley, the first man he faced. The next hitter, Devon Lowery, drove a pitch toward the moon. Fortunately for East, rightfielder Lefko never hesitated. At the sound of bat on ball, he turned and sprinted for the fence. He went as far as he could go, then leaped high and made the catch, yanking two certain Red Raider runs right back into the friendly confines of Staton Field.

“Nick’s catch was the biggest play,” said Safrit, whose SPCchamps are in the playoffs for the ninth straight year.

“It was a backbreaker,” added Hatley.

Hatley helped send South Point (17-9) in search of a chiropractor when he left Ensley standing at third base. Hatley struck out No. 3 hitter Ian Gibson and got cleanup man B.J. Richmond on a weak pop up to end the inning.

East’s half of the first was equally painful for the Raiders. Starting pitcher Lowery retired Cal Hayes Jr. and Drew Davis, but a walk to Hatley and a two-out single by Peiffer gave East first blood.

“It was the kind of two-out hit, I haven’t gotten at times this year,” said Peiffer, who has signed with Davidson. “I got ahead in the count and got a pitch to hit. It felt good to come through for everyone.”

“That first inning was so big,” said Hatley. “South Point started the game really active. But when we scored first, it took something out of them.”

East scored twice in the third. Hayes opened with a single and Davis, robbed his first time up on a running catch by Richmond in center field, hammered a screaming double to left to plate Hayes. Safrit then called on Hatley, usually his most dependable RBI guy, to bunt the runner to third. Safrit got some strange looks from the stands, but he didn’t care. He was already looking at Peiffer in the on-deck circle, demanding that he deliver again. The message was clear: “You’re our cleanup hitter and you’ve got to get runners home if we’re going to make noise in the playoffs.”

Peiffer responded to the challenge, singling through the left side to make it 3-0.

“Brett had a good night,” said Safrit. “He swung at all the right pitches. It looks like his confidence is back up.”

East (24-4) locked up the game and tossed away the key in the fourth. The Mustangs had runners at second and third with two outs and Davis at the plate, when South Point reliever Mike Gulledge fell behind 3-and-0. Raider manager Mickey Lineberger then elected to intentionally walk the soph, who’s batting .416, to pitch to Hatley, who’s hitting .434. Lineberger had his pick of poisons, but chose bad medicine.

Hatley drilled a two-run single on a hanging curve ball and it was 5-0. But Hatley, a senior, said he wasn’t insulted when the Raiders pitched around the kid to get to him.

“I wasn’t surprised they did that,” he said. “I hadn’t done a thing. Drew killed the ball his first two times up and all I had done was walk and bunt.”

The inning still wasn’t over. Peiffer was next, and this time he banged a liner into wide open spaces in right-center. He wound up with a two-run triple good for his third and fourth RBIs of the night and Hatley took a comfortable 7-0 cushion back to the mound.

“I started having fun again in the SPCTournament,” said Peiffer. “There’s not any pressure and no one on this team’s thinking about playing their last game.”

Once Hatley had the huge lead, he fired strikes and let his defense do its job.

Second baseman Justin Miller ranged to his left to make a good play in the fifth and leftfielder Adam Cornelius tracked down a couple of well-hit balls. Another shining moment came in the sixth. That’s when first baseman Andrew Barrier, flying shortstop Hayes and Hatley teamed for a rare 3-6-1 double play.

“If Brian gets through an unfamiliar lineup the first time without a run, we like our chances,” said Safrit. “He did a heck of a job. Their first four guys can hit.”

“My slider was good, and the way we hit and played defense made the pitching part real easy,” said Hatley. “A great team around me and a great crowd, it doesn’t get any better than this.”

When Hatley snared Hayes’ throw and kicked the first-base bag to complete that amazing sixth-inning twin killing, he spiked the ball to the grass in triumph like a next generation Pete Rose, as if to say, “This was fun. All right, who’s next?”