Cullman’s bid for a state tournament berth is alive and well following Day 1 of the Class 6A North Regional on Monday.

The Bearcats lost a heartbreaker to No. 7 Hazel Green 7-6 before bouncing back with a 16-8 victory over Fort Payne in the nightcap.

Cullman will play Buckhorn on Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. and needs three wins to advance to state.

See capsules below.

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No. 7 Hazel Green 7, Cullman 6

The Bearcats put up a good fight in Monday’s opening-round clash, but Hazel Green plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to walk it off.

Cullman stormed ahead 4-2 following a four-run second inning — the big hit a two-run single by Brooklyn Morton. Brie Voss then led off the fourth inning with a solo home run after Hazel Green had just tied the matchup.

The Black and Gold eventually found a 6-5 lead in the fifth inning without courtesy of a hit, as Kynlei Storey (walk), Hattie Graham (hit by pitch) and Morton (walk) reached to load the bases before Voss was hit by a pitch on a full count to plate the go-ahead run.

But the Trojans ultimately advanced in the winner’s bracket following a walk-off single.

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Cullman 16, Fort Payne 8

The Bearcats used a nine-run third inning to pull away from the Wildcats on Monday.

Cullman trailed 5-2 early — its two scores coming on a two-run double by Graham — before exploding offensively.

Back-to-back, run-scoring doubles by Graham and Morton tied the game before Kylie Stracener and Abby Maples hit RBI singles to make it 7-5. After an RBI groundout by Taylor Au and Fort Payne error increased the lead to four, Graham hit another two-run double to put Cullman ahead 11-5.

Maples added an RBI groundout in the fifth inning before Storey notched a two-run single. An RBI groundout by Samantha Johnson and sacrifice fly by Voss capped the scoring in the sixth.