Cullman’s Jesse Scott gets a playful push for teammate Orvis Cuello after Friday’s 5-4 win over Pelham in the opener of the Class 6A state championship baseball series. Scott went the distance to improve to 14-1 in his final start in a Black and Gold uniform.

MONTGOMERY — Even with a four-run lead entering the bottom of the seventh Friday at Paterson Field, Cullman knew full and well that Pelham was capable of a rally.

The Panthers did indeed rally, but Jesse Scott made sure it wasn’t enough, closing the door on a 5-4 Bearcat victory that leaves the Black and Gold one win away from lifting the Class 6A state championship.

Scott stayed calm and collected through every up and down of the hair-raising final frame. Once Hunter Stovall’s fly ball fell safely into Orvis Cuello’s glove for the last out, however, the Auburn signee didn’t hold back, pumping his arms, letting out a triumphant roar and somehow staying upright as his teammates and coaches swallowed him in celebration.

It was a moment Scott — and the entire Cullman program — had been waiting for since last year. When the southpaw walked off the same field in 2014, the ‘Cats were halfway to being swept by Spanish Fort.

This time, they’re halfway to the blue map — and Scott couldn’t be happier.

“That was insane,” he said of the down-to-the-wire ending. “It was gut-wrenching and great at the same time. I don’t know how you can explain it.”

Top-ranked Cullman (44-9) will look to finish off No. 2 Pelham (33-11) Saturday at 10 a.m. at Riverwalk Stadium. A Panther win in Game 2 would send the series to a 1 p.m. tiebreaker.

Though Scott has thrown his final pitch in a Black and Gold uniform — he closed out the spring 14-1 after scattering eight strikeouts, five hits, three walks and two bean balls over a complete game effort — he feels every bit safe putting his ultimate goal of securing a state crown in his teammates hands the rest of the weekend.

“All the confidence in the world,” Scott said. “We’re going to win it. No doubt.”

Pelham erased a late 4-0 deficit to beat Cullman 5-4 on Opening Day and nearly used some of the same magic in Friday’s series opener.

The Panthers scored all three runs in the seventh with two outs, the first two on a single by Sam Finnerty and last on a passed ball. A walk by Scott put runners on first and second for Stovall, who’d hit an RBI single in his second at-bat, but the Mississippi State signee’s popup was a piece of cake for Cuello in right field.

The thrilling conclusion left coach Brent Patterson needing a second to catch his breath before opening Cullman’s postgame press conference.

“It’s the fourth time we’ve played them, and every game has basically been a carbon copy of that,” said Patterson, who’s seeking his first ring as head coach and fourth overall. “It’s been competing down to the last out. I can’t say enough about the fight in both teams. They gave us everything we thought they would.

“There’s one. We’re halfway there, but it’s really nowhere close. We’ve got a big mountain to climb tomorrow.”

While the night belonged to Scott, it also served as a coming out party for Cullman’s offense. Nearly as dynamic a year ago, the Bearcat bats mustered just six hits in two games against Spanish Fort.

On Friday, they reeled off 10 — against an Alabama signee who’d yielded just a single run in his 28 prior playoff innings, no less.

Noah Fondren led the way for Cullman with a 3-for-4 performance. The sophomore followed a one-out hit by Sam Huser in the fourth inning with a single of his own, sparking a string of three straight two-out RBI knocks by Kolby Robinson, Cole Collins and Owen Lovell that extended the Black and Gold’s advantage to 5-1.

Cullman’s first runs came in the third and were a direct response to the 1-0 lead Pelham took in the top half. Fondren raced home on an error to tie it in the bottom half, and Cuello plated Robinson for the go-ahead run with an infield single.

Cuello and Huser both corralled a pair of hits. Collins, Robinson and Lovell all had one. Carson Freeman safely slid headfirst into home while pinch-running for Huser.

“We knew coming in what Finnerty was capable of, and we just were able to battle more,” Robinson said. “Last year, I felt like we were overpowered, but that wasn’t the case this year.”

The ‘Cats didn’t seem the slightest bit phased by a delayed start time of just more than three hours due to frequent waves of showers that kept the tarp on the infield for the majority of the break. That rang especially true for Scott, who, by the end of the evening, was hard-pressed to imagine a better way to put the finishing touches on his high school career.

Well, maybe there’s one other way — with a state championship to celebrate with his baseball brothers.

The title would be Cullman’s first since 2008 and fourth in program history.