SPRINGFIELD, Ga. – If there was any doubt about Effingham County’s resiliency after dropping a heartbreaking first game of the Class 5A second-round softball state tournament Monday afternoon, it quickly disappeared after Gabie Hill’s no-doubter in the second game.

Hill’s three-run homer lifted the Rebels to an early lead en route to a 6-3 victory over Seckinger in the nightcap, earning the host team a split after falling 10-6 in nine innings in the opener of the doubleheader.

The decisive Game 3 of the best-of-three series is scheduled for noon Tuesday. The winner advances to the Elite Eight tournament in Columbus. ECHS is seeking its fourth straight trip.

“I knew I had a job to do. I just had to keep my mind calm and simple,” Hill said.

Late-inning heartbreak in opener

Staying calm was tougher than it appeared early. ECHS (26-7) scored three runs in the first inning of the opener and led 3-1 in the seventh before Seckinger, a No. 2 seed from Region 7, came roaring back.

The Jaguars tied the game in the seventh and scored three runs in the eighth after two outs to take a 6-3 lead.

The Rebels answered with three runs in the bottom of the eighth, tying the game on Gracie LaFleur’s two-out, two-run single.

But Seckinger responded with a four-run ninth to pull out the win.

“I don’t know if disappointed is the right word,” ECHS coach Brad Thompson said. “Seckinger is a good team, and we were prepared to fight for three games. Part of our culture is fighting to the end.”

Hill’s homer, Wiley’s composure seal Game 2 win

The Rebels started the second game with a run in the first inning on Mady Reagan’s two-out single.

In the second inning, Hill’s homer sailed well over the left-field wall to extend the lead to 4-0.

“Between games we talked about competing,” Hill said. “We kind of fell apart in the first game. We knew what we’re capable of doing.”

The determined Jaguars (19-10) trimmed the lead to 4-3 with three runs in the third, but pitcher Ava Wiley stranded the tying run at third with a strikeout and a popup to end the inning.

“Those were some big innings Ava gave us in the second game,” Thompson said. “That’s what we’ll be counting on next year.”

This year, the Rebels continue to lean on senior ace Ansleigh Giordano, an Augusta University commit who pitched all nine innings and struck out 12 in the opener.

Giordano came on in relief in the fifth inning of Game 2 and threw three scoreless innings to earn the save.