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NORTH FORNEY — Spring Hill jumped out to the early lead in the Class 4A Region II championship series game two on Thursday, but Celina charged back to earn a 5-2 victory.

That sets up a decisive game three between the 33-4 Panthers and 31-4-1 Bobcats. The first pitch at North Forney High School is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday.

“Our boys are going to come out on fire tomorrow,” Spring Hill head baseball coach Trevor Petersen said of Friday’s series finale. “I know they’re going to give me 100 percent, and play until the last pitch is thrown.”

Jax Stovall and Marshall Lipsey quickly reached base in the top of the first inning, and Josiah Mackey reached first base on a fielder’s choice that forced Lipsey’s out at second base, and allowed Stovall’s advancement to third base.

Celina starting pitcher RJ Ruais then threw a wild pitch that allowed Stovall to score from third to give the Panthers an early 1-0 advantage.

Spring Hill starting pitcher Easton Ballard enjoyed a fast start on the mound, striking out five of the first six Celina batters he faced. He ultimately finished the game with nine punch outs, but it wasn’t enough to lead Spring Hill to a win.

Spring Hill’s defense also stepped up in the bottom of the third. Zack Henderson earned a leadoff walk, and Sean Rabe executed a successful bunt single. But, Ballard struck out Ruais, Henderson was caught stealing before third base, and Noah Bentley grounded out to end in the inning.

The Panthers had another scoring opportunity in the top of the fourth, but they fell short of growing their lead in the game. Mackey started the inning with a leadoff single and immediately advanced to second base on a throwing error past first base.

Cayson Wilkins served as Mackey’s pinch runner, and sat at third base after Brennan Ferguson’s sacrifice fly. But, Ruais struck out the next two Spring Hill batters to avoid a change in the score. He ultimately finished his six-and-two-thirds innings of work with 13 punch outs.

Celina was kept in check for the first game and a half of the regional final, but flipped the script with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Caden Mitchell recorded a RBI double that scored Jackson Rooker’s game-tying run before Kingston Hangartner’s three-run blast over the left field fence made it a 4-1 game.

Stovall’s aggressiveness helped Spring Hill bounce back in the top of the fifth, but it wasn’t enough to erase the entire deficit. He drew a walk, and later stole second and third base. He finished rounding the bases when he stole home.

Celina’s lead was now 4-2, and it finished off its series-extending victory with another score in the bottom of the sixth. That occurred when Rooker came home on a Spring Hill throwing error.