By Brandon Sumrall | Special to the Advertiser

Billingsley defeated Isabella 6-4 in Game 3 of the area series on Saturday and sent the Bears into the first round of the Class 1A State Playoffs while eliminating the Mustangs’ chances of making the postseason.

The contest went undecided into the final innings and did not swing the way of the Bears until the closing moments.

The Bears wasted little time getting the bats going as a leadoff single by Eric Willis and a bunt by Drayton Dubose gave Billingsley two on with no outs.

Willis scored on a fielder’s choice ground ball by Austin Harrell, and an RBI single by Cole Donaldson helped score Dubose to give Billingsley a 2-0 lead.

A Billingsley error started the home half of the first inning and gave the Mustangs a base runner, but three consecutive strikeouts by pitcher Jamie Barnett brought the inning to a close.

Both teams went in order through the second inning while a Willis leadoff single did little to help the Bears.

Another three-up, three-down inning by Isabella in the bottom half of the third sent the game to the fourth with Billingsley still leading 2-0.

An Isabella error on a ball hit by Austin Harrell set up a sacrifice fly ball by Walker Motley to pick up a run for the Bears that increased their lead to three runs.

A big third inning for the Mustangs got underway with a leadoff single by Dalton Smitherman.

Tyler Durham hit into a fielder’s choice that saw Smitherman out at second, and a fly ball by Jacob Davis was the second out of the inning.

A dropped third strike allowed Ethan Wendall to reach first, and a wild pitch plated Durham.

An RBI double by Jarrett Baker scored Wendall, and an error by Billingsley on a ball hit by Kelan Mims scored Baker to tie the game at 3-all.

The score was short lived for Isabella as a one-out walk to Dubose set up an RBI single by Jordan Thompson to swing the lead back in the Bears’ favor, 4-3.

With the home half of the fifth as well as the sixth inning going quietly for both squads, the game moved to the seventh with Isabella trailing by one.

Dubose started the final inning with a leadoff single and advanced to third on a ground ball by Noah Godwin.

A walk to Thompson and Harrell loaded the bases for Billingsley with only one out. An error by the Mustangs on a ball hit by Donaldson scored Dubose as well as Thompson and gave the Bears a two-run lead.

A ground ball out and a fly ball to right ended the top half of the seventh with Billingsley on top 6-3.

A diving play at second base by Godwin brought the Mustangs to their final two outs, but a walk to James Patterson and a single by Mathis gave Isabella two on with one out.

Billingsley coach Ricky Atcheson made the decision to pull Barnett and call on Willis to come on and close out the game.

Willis picked up a second out with a strikeout, but Durham reached base after being hit by a pitch.

The Mustangs were down to their final out with the bases loaded. A wild pitch allowed Patterson to score, but a ground ball to Billingsley shortstop Walker Motley was relayed to first to punch the Bears’ ticket for a first round playoff battle with the Verbena Red Devils.

Barnett threw 6 1/3 innings for the Bears allowing one earned run on four hits, three walks, while earning 13 strikeouts.

Donaldson led Billingsley at the plate going 2-for-4 with a single, a double and an RBI.

Davis got the start on the mound for Isabella and threw 6 1/3 with three earned runs on nine hits, with three walks, while striking out three.

Baker led the Mustangs at the plate with a 1-for-3 performance that included a double and an RBI.

The Bears will take on the Verbena Red Devils in Round 1 of the AHSAA Class 1A state baseball playoffs beginning a best-of-three series on Friday. Game times have yet to be determined.