HUEYTOWN — Dylon Wallace tossed a three-hit shutout, Brennen Norton crushed a go-ahead double in the sixth inning, and Cullman claimed a road sweep of Hueytown following a 2-0 triumph in Game 2 of Wednesday’s Class 6A semifinal series to punch its ticket to Montgomery.

The No. 7 Bearcats, who downed the No. 8 Golden Gophers 13-11 in Game 1, will play for a state title for the fifth time in the past six seasons.

Cullman will meet Chelsea, which swept No. 2 Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, in the state championship series.

The Bearcats (28-13) and Hornets (26-13) will play Game 1 at Paterson Field next Thursday at 7 p.m.

Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) will take place at Riverwalk Stadium next Friday beginning at 4 p.m.

“I don’t know if I can be any prouder,” Cullman coach Brent Patterson said. “We didn’t play very well, and a lot of that had to do with Hueytown. But our guys showed resilience. When faced with adversity, they just stayed the course. I’m really proud of the guys and our coaching staff.”

Cooper Beck led off the sixth inning of the nightcap with a double, his third hit of the contest.

Norton then brought him home with a two-bagger of his own before scoring on a passed ball.

The two-run cushion was all Wallace needed.

He worked out of slight trouble in the seventh inning to close out the win with seven strikeouts.

Brady Patterson recorded the last of Cullman’s five hits in the clash.

“It started with Dylon on the mound,” Brent Patterson said. “He was running on fumes and had almost nothing. We just relied on his competitiveness. He got out of jams and kept making big pitches. And Cooper was unbelievable in the box. He hits a double, then Brennen follows that up with another one. Clutch hits for guys who have done it all season.”

The Bearcats twice erased three-run deficits in Game 1.

They trailed 4-1 after the first inning before rallying to tie things up at 5-all in the fourth frame.

Hueytown, though, plated a trio of two-out runs in the sixth inning to capture an 8-5 advantage.

But Cullman refused to go quietly.

Patterson walloped a two-run double in the seventh inning — Ben Hollis and Dylon Wallace reached earlier in the frame — to make it 8-7 before Niklas Fondren brought home the tying run with a terrific safety squeeze. 

The Bearcats, however, weren’t done just yet.

Beck and Hollis sandwiched two-run singles around a Peyton Colvard sacrifice fly to make it 13-8.

The former’s clutch hit allowed Cullman to seize its first lead of the matchup.

“When it got to 8-7, I think that was a breath of fresh air, and guys saw we had a legit chance to win,” Patterson said. “It was a huge, huge win.”

Hollis finished with three hits and four RBIs to lead the Black and Gold offensively.

Norton also provided three hits.

Beck (two RBIs), Patterson (two RBIs) and Wallace (RBI) collected two hits apiece.

Colvard (RBI) and Nicholas Braswell (RBI) rounded out the hit parade with one apiece.

Fondren and AJ Miller added one RBI apiece.

“We’ll celebrate this one for 12 hours and then start getting our plan together,” Patterson said. “I’m so proud, and I want these guys to celebrate what they’ve accomplished.

“But we’ve got one more thing to accomplish.”