With two outs in the top of the seventh the Diamond Cats were one out away from a win.

One misplayed fly ball later Apalachee was staring at a new ball game.

“We handed them that one,” said AHS Head Coach Mike Cavey. “If we could have caught a fly ball it’s over.”

Instead of a Wildcats shutout, Region 8-AAAA opponent Clarke Central defeated the hosts 2-1 in nine innings Tuesday night, scoring runs in the seventh and ninth to steal a win.

To be specific, Gladiators outfielder DeShawn Smith stole the win from Diamond Cats pitchers Seth Maddox and Cory Hoopaugh.

Maddox pitched five innings of shutout ball and Hoopaugh nearly closed out the final two, before Clarke Central’s Bradley West launched a deep ball to right field.

West reached second on the error, and Smith, who was standing on second after a successful steal, sped home for the tying run.

Smith reappeared in the top of the ninth inning. He lined a one-out single between first and second for Clarke Central’s fourth hit of the game.

He went for another steal of second, and the throw from the catcher was wide, allowing the Gladiators speed merchant to coast into third.

A passed ball by Apalachee was the ticket home, and Smith put Clarke Central ahead 2-1.

The Wildcats couldn’t respond in the bottom of the ninth inning, dropping their opening region game in heartbreaking fashion.

“I hope this loss hurts our boys,” Cavey said. “I hope it drives them in our next game.”

The loss evens Apalachee’s record at 3-3, 0-1 in the region. The Cats will travel to Cedar Shoals Friday for a 5:55 p.m. start.

They will likely need more offense than they received Tuesday, with Steven Adair’s second inning single providing the lone RBI.

It looked to be enough as Maddox twirled five innings of three-hit ball, with three walks and four strikeouts.

Clarke Central starter Will Lance was just as menacing. He allowed the one earned run, but he also fanned nine Apalachee batters in six and two-thirds innings, giving up five hits and four walks.

Apalachee first baseman Caleb Austin recorded the second hit against Lance, a two-out single in the second inning.

Austin advanced to second on an error, catcher Andrew Hunter drew a walk, and then Adair lined a double over second to bring in the run.

Lance retired the next 11 batters he faced, but Apalachee had a great scoring chance in the sixth, with runners on first and third with one out.

They couldn’t capitalize on the chance, and they failed to drive in the last four runners in scoring position.

“I think we had more opportunities to score than they did in the game,” Cavey said. “But we have to get the key hits, and help our pitchers out.”

The Diamond Cats also had problems on the basepaths, including two players caught stealing.

 The superb pitching nearly made up for the lack of offense, as all four hurlers, including Ryan Shorter and Adair in the extra frames, finsihed with no earned runs.

The rotation has been the strength of the program this season. Going into the Monday game at Mountain View the pitching staff had a 1.81 ERA.

That’s a big improvement over last year’s team, which finished 8-18.

“At least we served notice today that maybe we’re not in the bottom of the region anymore,” Cavey said.