If the pitch was close, Boyd-Buchanan's Austin Jackson knew he was going to be swinging.
There was no time. It was the bottom of the seventh with one out. The Buccaneers were down a run but had the bases loaded.
Trying for his 11th strikeout of the game, Marion County pitcher Logan Walters served up a two-strike curveball low and away that would have flirted with the outside corner.
A senior better known for his touchdowns than his homers, Jackson ended Walters' flirtations and the game. The Bucs' No. 5 hitter unloaded, stroking a grand slam over the left-center-field fence and lifting the home team to a 7-4 victory in a Region 3-A baseball semifinal.
"I sure wasn't thinking home run -- more just making contact," Jackson managed to say around the widest of grins. "I had two strikes on me with one out and the bases loaded. I had to make something (happen)."
Jackson added that he didn't think Walters could get a fastball by him, so he was actually looking curveball.
Marion County baseball coach Scott Barton walks away from a conference on the mound as Boyd Buchanan beats Marion County 7-5 in a TSSAA region game on Monday, May 11, 2015, in Chattanooga."He got the breaking ball and he stayed on it well -- squared it up. He crushed it," Boyd-Buchanan coach Josh Rider said. "There are all kinds of adjectives I could give you -- incredible, unbelievable -- but there's a reason he's in the 5-spot for us. He drives in runs. He has a quick bat and he's been big for us all year long."
It was a crushing blow for the Warriors, who had battled back to take a 4-3 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth.
The win propelled Boyd-Buchanan into Wednesday's region final against District 5-A runner-up Silverdale Baptist Academy, which upset 6-A champ South Pittsburgon Monday.
"We weren't looking past them," Rider said of the Warriors. "We knew with Walters on the mound that we had our work cut out for us. Then in the sixth we put a guy on by error and then walked three. They took advantage with a big hit and then another big hit."
Walters got the first RBI in the sixth -- his second of the game -- and then Tyler Fox sent a two-run single down the right-field line.
But Jackson ended the upset hopes with his one-out slam.
"I'm speechless. I don't know (what to say); I just don't know. I'm still trying to get a grip on it," Marion coach Scott Barton said.
The Warriors wasted another quality postseason outing by Walters, who may join the Marion football team today for spring practice.
"My hat's off to Logan. He was a bulldog. He was crafty from start to finish," Barton said. "(Jackson) hit a good pitch and hit it a long way."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.