Only two weeks ago, Frankfort rolled into Great Crossing mad as heck and unwilling to take it any more.
Soundly beaten in their first four baseball meetings with the Warhawks, the Panthers won the first game of a contentious doubleheader and were only two outs away from a sweep.
Great Crossing restored normalcy in a seven-run extra inning that night, and it snowballed into a 15-5 rout of Frankfort on Wednesday night in the 41st District semifinals at Western Hills.
Dustin Hoffman went 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI for Great Crossing (21-12), which has now advanced to the district championship and the 11th Region tournament in all three seasons of its existence.
GC took on Franklin County for the title Thursday after press time.
Starting pitcher Nate Adkins added two hits for the Warhawks, who pounded out 11 and sealed the deal by virtue of the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth.
Frankfort (15-13), which lost its last seven games after that prior breakthrough win over Great Crossing, helped the cause with four errors.
The Panthers led briefly, 1-0, thanks to a single by Garrett Wellman, double from James Sebree and sacrifice fly off the bat of Steven Hamilton.
Four runs furnished the first of four crooked numbers for Great Crossing in the bottom of that frame.
Hoffman singled, Morris was hit by a pitch and Adkins reached on a dropped fly ball to load the bases out of the gate against Wellman.
Micah Mullins tied it with a sacrifice fly, and courtesy runner Bishop McKinney scored on the back end of a delayed steal with Adkins to give GC a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Matt Lacy's single and Chase Coulter's double each furnished a run for the 4-1 lead.
Frankfort nudged within a run when four of its first five hitters logged a base hit in the third. Hamilton's double and a Drew Ludwig single produced the runs.
Morris threw out a would-be base thief and Adkins lured a fly ball to Hoffman in left to abbreviate that rally, and GC erupted for three runs in reply.
A leadoff double by Peyton Mullannix was the propellant.
GC took advantage of a hit batsman, two walks, an error and and Alcorn sacrifice fly thereafter.
Wellman brought it back to 7-4 in the fourth before Nathan Beaven took over from Adkins and notched the final two out.
GC pushed across five runs in its next plate appearance, highlighted by Hoffman's bases-clearing double. Adkins singled and Mullannix, Matt Lacy, Ben Lacy and Alcorn drew walks to set it up.
Sebree's RBI fielder's choice in the sixth was Frankfort's final stand. A single by Alcorn, double from Hoffman and multiple wild pitches spelled the end.
Beaven allowed only two hits and one run in his 2 2/3 innings of relief. He struck out three.
