SULPHUR — A little extra work paid off in a big way for Max Chamberlain, who had two hits, drove in two runs and earned a save in Elizabeth’s 5-2 Class C semifinal win over Summerfield Thursday at the state baseball tournament.

The Bulldogs (31-5) advanced to the championship game at 1 p.m. Friday against Simpson, which advanced with a 10-0 win over Georgetown.

Chamberlain spent some extra time in the batting cage in the days leading up to the game.

“Lately I have been struggling at the plate,” Chamberlain said. “The last two games I have not hit well, so I spent some extra time in the batting cage. I did what I can to help my team.”

That included pitching the final inning, even though Chamberlain said he does not feel that is his strong suit.

“As a sophomore and not being too strong on the mound, it felt great (to close the game),” he said. “I felt confident and just did what I could.”

Before taking the hill, Chamberlain did plenty of damage at the plate, leading off the game with a single and scoring on a Chance Gordon sacrifice fly. In the second, Chamberlain singled to score Cody Ware, then added a sacrifice fly to score Ware in the fifth inning.

The Bulldogs scored three runs in the first two innings to take control, but left eight men stranded in the first four innings.

“We wanted to get control early,” said Elizabeth head coach Rhon Morgan. “We had a chance to score some more, but I felt like we were playing just to survive this game. Their pitcher did a good job over the rest of the game.”

After the first two batters of the game reached and scored, Summerfield starter Casey Chandler allowed five hits and three unearned runs while tossing a complete game.

The Rebels scored single runs in the fifth and sixth, but Chamberlain pitched a scoreless seventh to end the game.

Jacob Lee (21-9) led Summerfield with two hits and a run. Hagen Hallenshead added a single and scored a run.

Summerfield’s Trey Washington (13) tries to beat the throw to 1st as Elizabeth’s Ben Thornhill (5) makes the catch during their semifinal round game of the 2017 Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA State Baseball Championship on Wednesday