In the playoffs, baseball teams look for clutch hitting and clutch pitching. The South Effingham Mustangs got their share of both Friday night.

Waylon Pickard’s bases-clearing double capped a seventh-inning rally, and Matt Zettler stopped a Shaw uprising in its tracks in the seventh inning of the second game, leading the Mustangs to a sweep of their Class AAA first-round series with the Raiders, 7-6 and 6-4.

Pickard’s hit in the first game meant Zettler, who had entered that game in relief, got a win and a save for the Mustangs.

“When you get into things like this, sometimes the most unlikely heroes step forward,” South Effingham coach Tony Kirkland said.

Friday capped a big week for the junior, who also got the win in the Mustangs’ wild 15-14 come-from-behind win against Class A No. 4 Calvary.

“He has changed arm slots, and he has battled for an opportunity,” Kirkland said of his right-hander. “To pick up a win and a save, that’s a testament to that kid.”

In Game 1, after John Hammock’s RBI single chased starter Jesse Osborne, Zettler was summoned. After a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk, Brandon Day’s sac fly to right made it 6-3 before Zettler fanned Josh Hall to end the inning.

But it all unraveled quickly for the Raiders in the bottom of the seventh. After lefty Cam Greathouse — Shaw’s quarterback and also considered one of the top prep baseball players in the state — gave up two singles to start the inning, Donte Williams was brought back in to pitch. Williams left the game in the third after getting hit by a pitch on the left elbow.

Shortstop JP Cooper then bobbled John Roberts’ potential double-play grounder, loading the bases. After Kiefer Youmans worked a walk, Pickard lined a 2-2 fastball into right field. Josh Hall dove for the ball, but it skidded past him and rolled to the fence. All three runners scored, and the Mustangs erupted from the dugout, mobbing Pickard.

“It’s heart. We’ve got it,” Pickard said. “We won’t quit. We play until the last out.”

The Mustangs trailed 4-1 in the fifth after the Raiders scored twice in a two-out, none-on rally. Hammock and Cooper had RBI singles as five straight Raiders reached base.

Colby May cut the lead to one, hammering a Greathouse pitch over the left field foul pole. But until Pickard’s knock in the seventh, the Mustangs had the tying run in scoring position each inning from the third through the sixth.

Pickard also drove in the first run with a single to right in the second inning.

“We couldn’t get the big hit, and for some reason, we fizzled,” Kirkland said. “Then we pounded it.”

Zettler said his job was to throw strikes and let the defense behind him make plays.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in them,” he said. “We did this last week against Calvary. I knew our guys could pull it off. We’ve got a lot of fight in this team. We have learned how to battle back from tough situations all year. It’s paying off now.”

The Mustangs grabbed an early lead in the second game on Roberts’ two-out, run-scoring single to center in the top of the third. Shaw tied it in the fourth on Williams’ single to center, plating Howie Shackelford.

The Raiders went ahead 2-1 in the fifth, with a walk and a single with one out preceding starting pitcher Ryan Cole leaving the game holding his right elbow. Cole has had Tommy John surgery.

After Shackelford reached on an infield single, Day scored on a Williams’ sac fly to right, but Greathouse was eventually cut down on the plate.

The Mustangs responded in the sixth, sending 10 men to the plate in a five-run rally off Lance Lambert, who threw a complete game. Matt Tufts lined a two-out, run-scoring single to center, Walt Armstrong’s grounder bounded through Averett’s legs at first base and Patrick Styblo beat out a bunt single. Cheeks, May and Roberts followed with consecutive singles, with May’s hit bringing in two runs.

Shaw got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded walk. May walked four, hit a batter and gave up two hits in 1 1/3 innings of relief, before Zettler, relying mainly on his fastball and curveball, settled things down.

Zettler entered the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded, no outs and the potential winning run at the plate. He notched two quick strikeouts, gave up an RBI single to Cooper, and got Averett to fly out to right to end the game and the series.

“I’m ecstatic,” Kirkland said. “I saw this game ending like the first one did.”

South Effingham outhit Shaw 24-19 in the two games, and the Raiders did not have an extra-base hit. May finished 5-of-7 with four RBIs, Cheeks was 5-for-8 with four runs, Youmans was 4-for-7, Pickard was 2-for-7 with four RBIs, Roberts was 2-for-7 with two RBIs, Chris Zittrouer was 2-for-7 and Tufts was 2-for-6.

Shaw ended its season at 16-12. South Effingham (17-9) will face West Laurens in the second round, which will be played at South Effingham. West Laurens swept its series from Westover.

The second-round series will begin with a doubleheader Wednesday at 5 p.m. A third game, if necessary, will be played Thursday at 1 p.m.

It doesn’t seem to matter to Mustangs when they’re playing, just so long as they are playing.

“There ain’t no way I plan to come off this field anytime soon,” Pickard said.