HANCEVILLE — For the first time in a decade, Hanceville’s baseball team can call itself a postseason winner.

That sounds just fine to the Bulldogs.

Seniors Hayden Loggins and Dant’e Reese showed out in a 2-1 victory in Game 1, while the Purple and Gold defense led the way to a 4-3 win in Game 2 — lifting Hanceville to a first-round series triumph over Winston County Saturday at home.

With heavy rain playing tricks with scheduling throughout the week, coach Michael Chandler was just glad to be back on the field.

And, hey, advancing onward isn’t a bad bonus, either.

“It feels really great,” he said. “The kids earned it. We wanted to make it a little more dramatic than we needed to, though. But really, if we didn’t play baseball today, I was going to lose my mind. I’m sure they felt the same way. I was jacked up all week, but I’m drained now. I’m physically and mentally drained. But that’s playoff baseball I guess.”

The Bulldogs did very little to limit Chandler’s stress in the opener.

They grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the second inning on an RBI single by Isaac Weissend, but the Yellow Jackets responded with a clutch run-scoring double in the fourth to knot things up.

Aside from that misstep, Loggins was as dominant as usual, allowing just four hits and striking out four in the complete game effort.

“He didn’t have his best stuff, but he still got it done in a really big way for us,” Chandler said.

The offense, on the other hand, couldn’t muster any runs — despite eight hits and three walks through six innings.

It wasn’t until the seventh that Hanceville cashed in those opportune chances at runs for a wild walk-off win.

Loggins led off the frame with a hustle single before an Austin Coker hit and intentional walk to Isaac Hardin loaded the bags with just one out for Reese.

And, on a 1-1 count, the center fielder poked a pitch slowly through the infield grass to the shortstop, whose throw to home plate wasn’t in time to peg Loggins.

Clutch? Perhaps. Almost a dream? Definitely.

As it turns out, Reese didn’t arrive to the ballpark until the fifth inning of the opening game because he was too busy taking the ACT.

“I wasn’t expecting to even play,” he said. “Coach told me to put my cleats on when I got there. Then coach told me to get my glove and go play center after that. They loaded up with Hardin, and I got the game-winning hit. After that ACT, that was a great feeling for me. I was just looking to put a bat on the ball and I did.”

Added Chandler: “He’s a competitor. He’s probably been out there in center field since he was a freshman, so it was weird to not see him at the start. But he came in and got the biggest knock of the game for us.”

Loggins secured three hits, while Weissend had two. Reese, Christian James, Kaine Yates and Hardin all tallied one base knock each in the Game 1 victory.

Hanceville took what appeared to be a commanding 4-0 cushion into the sixth inning of the nightcap, thanks in part to a couple of runs off wild pitches and RBIs (an Alex Armstrong groundout in the fifth and a two-out Austin Coker single in the sixth).

However, Winston County scored three runs off the Dawg bullpen in the frame and loaded the bases with two outs, causing Chandler to make a “call to his ‘pen.”

His selection? Sophomore Branen Hurst.

Tough spot, right?

Not for the right-hander, who proceeded to coax a harmless fly ball to right field for the third out.

“I just had to stay the three C’s in that situation,” Hurst said. “Calm, cool and collected. I felt confident throwing strikes, so that’s what I tried to do. I wasn’t too worried about it.”

Added Chandler: “It was interesting there at the end, but I’ll take it. We were solid on defense and with our pitching in both games. Our bats just need to be a little bigger. If we get hot, that’s a bonus.”

Hardin stifled any opportunity of a Yellow Jacket comeback in the final inning with a called third strike to strand a runner at third base.

When the umpire gave the signal, the senior couldn’t believe it.

“It was crazy,” Hardin said. “I had chill bumps. Right as I threw that last pitch, I said, ‘That’s a dot.’ It’s probably the most amazing feeling that I’ve had. We’ve waited so long to get a playoff win, and we’ve got it now. We’ll try to do the same thing next Friday.”

Coker (two base knocks) paced the offense, while Weissend, Hardin, Hurst, James, Loggins each collected one hit.

The playoff sweep sets up a road series against Winfield next Friday. If that particular name sounds familiar to Hanceville fans, it should. The Pirates eliminated the Dawgs with a pair of 4-1 defeats last spring and will no doubt be looking to do the same in a week’s time.

Chandler, however, hopes to flip the script.

“The article from last year is still hanging on our wall,” he said. “We think about it every day -— the feeling they gave us, ending our season like they did. That’s been our focus. It’s going to be a battle.”

Added Reese: “We couldn’t ask for anything else right now. Winning the first round. Getting Winfield in the second round. It’s great.”