Productive and timely hitting helped carry Bowdon to the championship game of the 13th Annual Central Shootout.

Once the Red Devils got there Sunday, they needed their hitting to help them out of a huge hole.

Trailing by seven runs midway through the fourth inning and in danger of suffering a run-rule loss, Bowdon’s bats broke loose.

The Red Devils scored 14 runs over the final four innings to knock off Carrollton, 18-14, in the championship game at Central High School.

Bowdon finished the 10-team varsity tournament at 5-0 and averaged nearly 11 runs per game.

While the Red Devils went 20-5 last season, they lost six seniors to graduation, taking a a big hit both at the plate and on the mound.

Bowdon coach Mark Huggins’ goal all along was to be still playing on Sunday, but even he admitted Bowdon’s perfect record and tournament championship came as a bit of a surprise.

“I don’t think we were the odds-on favorite by any means going into that tournament,” Huggins said. “If anything, we were probably a long shot.”

Carrollton, coming off of a disappointing 2-3 showing in the previous week’s Sports Turf Classic, had an 11-4 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning after chasing Bowdon starting pitcher Quinn Robinson.

“This team could’ve very easily, when we were down 11-4 after that huge inning that Carrollton had, just laid down and sat aside with second place,” Huggins said. “After they went up 11-4, one of our guys ran in from the field and they said, ‘Hey, let’s see how many we can get this inning. Let’s chip away.’”

Bowdon began to take a more patient approach at the plate and the walks started to pile up as Carrollton’s pitchers struggled with their control.

Once the Red Devils got runners on base, their bats did the rest and by the time the sixth inning was over with they had an 18-11 lead.

“We just kind of got on fire,” Huggins said. “Hitters were just really smacking the ball around.”

Bowdon’s wild and wooly championship game came one night after it squeaked out a 6-5 victory in a pitchers’ duel against Central.

Jonathan Cook, who pitched that game for the Red Devils, came on in relief Sunday and pitched well.

“He started looking real good,” Huggins said. “His pitch count was pretty low the night before, so I hung with him.”

Bowdon gave him plenty of run support as it turned a seven-run deficit into a seven-run lead in three innings.

“These guys showed a lot of heart,” Huggins said.

The game might’ve been long, but it certainly was a good way for Bowdon to finish up its summer season.