GUYTON, Ga. – Alyssa Martin wasn’t trying to hit a home run Tuesday night, but the South Effingham senior didn’t mind the outcome.

Her dramatic two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning allowed the Mustangs to walk off with a wildly entertaining 12-10 victory over visiting Glynn Academy in the opener of a key two-game region series.

South Effingham (9-2, 3-0 Region 1-6A) extended its winning streak to four games while snapping the Red Terrors’ nine-game winning streak.

Mustang Danni Lynn, who hit a home run in the first inning, led off the seventh with a four-pitch walk. Glynn’s pitcher then fell behind Martin 3-1.

“I was thinking, ‘Hit it hard, line drive, get the runner to third,’ because I have an amazing team behind me and they can easily get her in,” Martin said.

Instead, Martin ended the game with one swing.

Another big moment for Martin

It wasn’t the first time Martin seized the moment.

As a sophomore, her three-run homer in the eighth inning lifted South Effingham to an 8-5 victory over Effingham County in the region championship game.

“She’s one of those kids you want to have up in that situation,” SEHS coach Adam Newland said. “We’re really fortunate she plays here at South and we’ve had her for four years. She’s always ready for those moments. Again, it wasn’t unexpected.”

The South Effingham-Glynn Academy series — the second game will be played Thursday in Brunswick — is a rematch of the three-game series that decided last season’s subregion crown.

Lynn’s home run in the seventh inning of Game 3 won that series.

Tuesday’s game picked up where that one left off.

Offense on display

Offense wasn’t lacking on either side. The teams combined for 28 hits and 22 runs, including 24 hits and 19 runs in the first four innings.

Every Mustang in the starting lineup had at least one hit.

Cadi Hendry had three hits, including a home run, and two RBIs. Martin, Sydney Minshall, Justine Nevels, Makenzi Polk and Olivia Johnson had two hits apiece.

Martin drove in three runs. Polk drove in three with a bases-clearing triple in the first inning. Minshall plated two runs.

South Effingham scored five runs in the first inning and built leads of 5-0, 6-1 and 8-3.

Glynn Academy (11-3, 4-1 Region 1-6A) struck for six runs in the fourth inning to take a 9-8 lead.

“You never like to lose a big lead like that, but our team handled it maturely,” Martin said. “We gave up the lead, but we never gave up on the game.”

Mustangs answer back

South Effingham regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth.

Hendry led off with a towering home run to left field, and the Mustangs manufactured another run on Minshall’s sacrifice fly to make it 10-9.

Glynn Academy answered on Audrey Slayton’s two-out RBI single in the fifth.

It was the only hit allowed by Kelsee Collins, who pitched three scoreless innings in relief and retired the final seven Red Terror batters in order.

“Kelsee gave us a chance to win the game by settling things down,” Newland said.

A test of the Mustangs’ standing

It was another marquee victory for the Mustangs, who hold the top power ranking in Class 6A. Glynn Academy entered the game ranked seventh.

South Effingham began its winning streak by defeating Long County, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, on Aug. 31. The Mustangs opened the season by beating Wayne County, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A.

“We want to be in control of our destiny,” Newland said. “We know if we win the region, we’ll be home, at least for the first round, in the playoffs. We’re not going to rest on this one. It’s important to go over to Glynn on Thursday and sweep.”