South Williamsport left fielder Chase Beck took a deep breath and uttered two words as he exited Bowman Field Friday night.

“My heart,” he said.

Beck essentially was speaking for all of South’s fans and coaches who breathed a collective sigh of relief after their hearts took a seventh inning pounding. But he also could have been talking about what won Friday’s Backyard Brawl Semifinal.

Because at its core, South won this game with its collective beating heart. Both Noah Turner and Kaiser Kistner sure showed a lot, helping South secure a 9-7 win against Williamsport and earn a spot against Montoursville in Saturday’s Backyard Brawl championship.

Turner pitched six gutsy innings and stranded 10 baserunners before Kistner stopped a furious Williamsport comeback and induced a game-ending flyout while leaving the tying runners on base. This, after Williamsport (11-5) had roared back from a 9-1 deficit, scoring six times in the bottom of the seventh. Fittingly, it was Turner who secured the final out, catching the flyball in shallow right field.

“I love the pressure. I’m not scared of it. That just makes it more fun,” Turner said after earning his area-high sixth win. “They’re a tough team and it was fun playing them.”

“You can’t be nervous out there,” Kistner said. “I’m not really feeling anything there. I’m just throwing and doing my thing.”

South’s thing Friday, as it often has been this season, was doing all the little things right to produce a big win. Starters and reserves made key impacts, Caleb Neidig went 3 for 4 with three RBIs while playing four positions and nine different players reached base.

Williamsport made South (10-3) earn it the hard way but is all right with this blue-collar team which embraces challenge. And it sure had one against a 6A team which had big wins against Central Mountain and Selinsgrove over the previous six days.

That is probably what made this South victory so sweet.

“Williamsport has a great team, and for us to come out with a team win where everybody contributed is big for us,” South coach Casey Waller said. “I’m just proud of the guys because everyone did something to help us win. You can’t single anyone out tonight because everyone contributed.”

That team effort looked like it would produce a shockingly easy win against what had been a surging Williamsport team. But the Millionaires came alive in the seventh and did their best to create an improbable, remarkable comeback.

Turner reached his 100-pitch limit two batters into the seventh and Williamsport produced five hits, including RBI singles from Griffin Vollman, Christian Franzen, Deacon Brown and Cole Shuler. The last two hits came with two outs and Shuler’s two-strike single made it, 9-7 while putting the tying runners on first and second.

Instead of crumbling, Kistner embraced the big moment under the big Bowman Field lights. Facing a 2-1 count the right-hander, who usually starts, was able to induce the flyout which capped the thriller and helped South secure its 34th straight playoff berth.

“I’m not really nervous pitching at the end,” Kistner said. “I’ve never been in that situation before, but I trusted my d and knew they would come up big for me.”

Turner came up huge for South.

The Mounties started strong, scoring four first inning runs with Kaden Shay (2 for 5) belting a lead-off single, Kistner ripping an RBI single, and Neidig hitting a two-run single. When the throw home was off the mark another run scored, and South led 4-0.

Turner took it from there and repeatedly stomped out potential fires. The hard-working right-hander left runners on second and third in the first inning and the bases loaded in the second. His latest victory was more about his toughness than anything else because Turner made enough escapes to make Houdini envious.

In fact, Turner left at least one runner on base in each of his six innings. Eight of those 10 runners he left on were in scoring position. When the pressure was highest, Turner was at his best and Williamsport went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position against him.

He did not overpower Williamsport, but Turner made them hit the pitches he wanted and forced 10 flyouts/pop-outs. Williamsport produced seven hits against Turner but never dented his psyche. It was on to the next pitch, the next batter and Turner kept delivering big pitches.

“You just have to stay calm and pitch it like there’s nobody there. You just have to keep doing what you do,” Turner said. “I’ve been working all offseason and throughout the season. I just feel I can get it done in the big games. I feel comfortable out there and I love pitching.”

“Noah has stepped up to the plate and he’s accepted that challenge,” Waller said. “When he has his pitches on, he’s tough and the guys played really well defensively behind him.”

South also excelled offensively, producing 10 hits and starting 5 for 12 with runners in scoring position, highlighting the game’s key difference. Cousins and Alex Neidig pushed the lead to 5-0 in the third inning with Alex hitting a lead-off single and Caleb belting a two-out RBI double to deep left field. Shay delivered with two outs in the fifth inning, hitting an RBI single before using his legs and smarts to produce another run.

Shay stole second and forced an errant throw which sent him to third. The three-year starter then did enough on third base to distract the pitcher and force a balk that made it, 7-1. South did not let up either, scoring two more runs in the top of the seventh and going ahead, 9-1.

Kistner opened the inning with a single, Caleb Neidig capped his big night with a single and Kayne Jones scorched a two-run double down the left field line. It was hard to tell at the time, but Jones’s key hit ended up providing the difference in the game’s outcome when Williamsport started storming back.

“Everybody is doing something to help,” Turner said. “There’s no one guy on this team that’s carrying the team. It’s guys off the bench, it’s young guys and it’s everybody.”

Williamsport has received similar performances throughout its roster this season. Caleb Fausnaught settled in after the first inning and struck out eight in 4 2/3 innings. Shuler reached base four times and went 2 for 3, while Cayden Robertson was 3 for 5.

The Millionaires finished with 11 hits but, ultimately, the timely ones did not come until it was too late.

“It took too long for them to put it together,” Williamsport coach Kyle Schneider said. “We didn’t have patient at-bats and we weren’t seeing pitches. We have to have better approaches. You have to play South Williamsport like they’re Central Mountain or Selinsgrove because they’re too good of a team to not do that.”

South is seeking its second Backyard Brawl championship in three years and its showdown against Montoursville features the tournament’s last two champions. Montoursville blanked South, 1-0 in last year’s semifinals before winning the title, but South defeated the Warriors, 9-4 earlier this season.

“Montoursville is a different team than they were at the beginning of the season, so we just have to come out ready to play,” Waller said. “We have to be ready to play good baseball. It should be a great game.”

South 401 002 2–9 10 0

Williamsport 001 00 6–7 11 2

Noah Turner, Alex Neidig (7), Kaiser Kistner (7) and Kayne Jones. Caleb Fausnaught, Ethan Eckard (6) and Adam Aldenderfer. W–Turner, (6-1). L–Fausnaught, (4-2). SV–Kistner.

Top South hitters: Caleb Neidig 3-4, 2B, 3 RBIs; Kaden Shay 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2R; 2 SB; Kaiser Kistner 2-3, RBI, R; Tadd Lusk 1-2, 2 BB, R; Jones 1-3, 2B, 2 RBIs; Alex Neidig 1-3, BB, 2R. Top Williamsport hitters: Cayden Robertson 3-5; Aldenderfer 2-3, BB; Cole Shuler 2-3, RBI, 2R, SB; Griffin Vollman 1-4, RBI; Christian Franzen 2-4, RBI, R SB; Deacon Brown 1-5, RBI.

Records: South 10-3. Williamsport 11-5.