CALLERY — It's not over until it's over.

That certainly proved true in Tuesday's Eagle County League semifinal showdown between Saxonburg and Mars II.

Saxonburg trailed 4-1 entering its last at-bat and had cut its deficit to 4-2 by the time Cullen Hinderliter stepped to the plate with two outs and teammates on first and second.

The Knoch High graduate sent a belt-high fastball over the left-field fence, putting his team up 5-4.

Saxonburg pitcher Sean O'Donnell then worked a scoreless bottom of the seventh, capping a complete-game victory in Game 2 of the series.

Saxonburg, which lost Game 1 on Monday, was one out away from facing a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five format.

“This was paramount,” said Saxonburg manager Dan Cunningham. “This was almost a must-win situation for us.”

Hinderliter was 0-for-2 in the game before his seventh-inning bomb.

“I was just trying to get the next guy to the plate and I didn't know it was gone until I reached first base,” he said. “Sean threw his heart out today and we wanted to score for him. We know we are capable of scoring runs at any time.”

It was Mars II's starting pitcher Fran Haus who appeared to be in line for the win. Through six innings, he had held Saxonburg to just one run on five hits.

But with one out in the seventh, he walked Steve Hall and gave up a single to Andy Fritz, putting runners at first and third. Brandon Wissinger hit into a fielder's choice, scoring Hall to make it 4-2.

Zane Voltz kept the rally going with a single, bringing Hinderliter to the plate.

“There's a lot of fight in this team,” Cunningham said of his squad. “They want to win.”

“Fran pitched a great game,” said Mars II manager Ryan Leonberg. “He mixed things up well. It was one pitch that beat us.”

As it did in Monday's game, Mars II grabbed the momentum early. Gabe Stephenson drilled a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning and Weston Hillegas hit a two-run home run in the second. In Monday's win, Mars II scored all seven of its runs in the first two frames.

“We've tried to keep our focus past the first few innings, but we lost it a bit tonight,” said Leonberg. “And he (O'Donnell) settled in.”

Saxonburg missed several scoring opportunities early on. The team loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the second inning, but Haus struck out Dustin Hilgar and induced Wissinger to hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

In the fourth, Saxonburg's Evan Oswald doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on a flyout, but was stranded there.

Finally, the team plated a run in the sixth when Mick Fennell singled and came home on Oswald's second double of the game.

Saxonburg 000 001 4 — 5 8 1

Mars II 220 000 0 — 4 7 0

W: Sean O'Donnell 7IP (7K, 2BB). L: Fran Haus 7IP (6K, 3BB).

Saxonburg (25-8): Mick Fennell 1B R, Evan Oswald 2-2B RBI, Ryan Fennell 1B, Josh Smith 1B, Steve Hall R, Brandon Wissinger R RBI, Zane Voltz 1B R, Cullen Hinderliter HR 3RBI, Andy Fritz 1B

Mars II (22-15): Phil Double R, John Crummy 2-1B R, Gabe Stephenson 2B 2RBI, Nick Rossmiller 1B R, Chet Shaffer 1B, Weston Hillegas HR 2RBI, Jim Roach 1B

Today: Mars II vs. Saxonburg, Game 3 of semifinals, 6 p.m. at Butler County Community College