Chad Sheppard ended up being a thorn in the side for ACCS as he drove in the winning run in the top of the ninth inning and was the winning pitcher as the Cougars defeated the Rebels Tuesday night.

With the win, Franklin Academy (23-5 overall) improved to 7-3 in MPSA District 4-AA. However, the Cougars could still wind up not making the playoffs if ACCS (12-14, 5-5) sweeps them Thursday on the road. If that happens, the Rebels are in the playoffs.

“It was a huge game. We had some opportunities,” ACCS head coach Ron Rushing said. “I’m proud of my kids. They played a good ball game.”

Jordan Temple led off the top of the ninth inning with a single and went to second on Devin Evans’s one-out single. Cuyler Martin hit into a fielder’s choice and moved Temple over to third. Then with two outs, Sheppard was the hero for Franklin Academy as his single scored Temple.

Sheppard went 3-for-5 and Justin Johns was 2-for-4 for the Cougars, who ended up with 11 hits.

Then in the bottom of the ninth, Sheppard retired the side to end the game and made things much harder for ACCS to get into the playoffs.

The Rebels scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but didn’t score again until the bottom of the fifth after trailing 4-2. They then tied the game at 4-4 with one run in the bottom of the sixth.

Luke Brumfield was 3-for-3 with a double and Dustin Carroll went 2-for-4 with a double for ACCS, which had 10 hits.