OROFINO - Marcus Johnson watched the baseball dribble slowly into the outfield, his heart sinking as he realized the gravity of the situation.

The Genesee second baseman had misplayed a routine grounder with two outs, but the situation was anything but ordinary. It was the top of the seventh inning of the Idaho Class 1A state championship, and Johnson's error had just helped Potlatch steal a 7-5 lead in a game which was tied moments earlier.

Even with the major swing of momentum, Johnson knew he would get a chance to make up for his mistake. And when that moment came, the senior delivered in thrilling fashion.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Johnson laced a fastball from Loggers hurler Kyle Lynas deep into center field, delivering the Bulldogs a walk-off 8-7 victory Saturday afternoon at Rasmussen Field. As the senior rounded first, he turned toward the dugout and raised his arms in exultation before his teammates rushed the field and swarmed him in a dogpile.

"I saw a fastball and I was just thinking about how I needed to do my job," Johnson said. "They put me in that position and I was able to come through. I wasn't even watching (the ball), I was just running to first."

It was a fitting conclusion to a state title game featuring two Whitepine League heavyweights, especially after the Bulldogs dropped last year's championship to the Loggers in extra innings.

"The feeling is unreal, I just told the guys out there that it's hard to experience what you just experienced - that euphoria," Genesee coach Kevin Maurer said. "Especially in a game like that, it's hard to describe the feeling of the moment you're in."

It was Genesee's first state crown since 2015 and the squad's third title game appearance in the last four years, as the program also finished the spring with a 15-7 record.

"Those seniors experienced a championship as freshmen and then lost last year's (championship) game," Maurer said. "It's great for it to come in a full circle and for them to get it again as seniors. They showed our younger guys the path that they need to take and what commitment can do for you."

One of those upperclassmen, Hayden Woods, capped off his high school career with a perfect 5-for-5 effort at the plate. Johnson added another three hits and Kolby Moser kept the Loggers in check with his complete-game effort on the mound.

"They all had decent curveballs, so I was just trying to pick up the spin on that," Woods said of the Potlatch pitching staff. "Their outfielders were playing me at the wall, so I was just thinking a base hit up the middle. I watch a lot of Pete Rose videos, and he said the best hit in the world is a line drive over the shortstop's head. So that's what I was thinking the whole day."

The result marked a disappointing conclusion to a 19-6 season for the Loggers, especially after the squad nearly snagged a three-peat title with RBI grounders from Braden Morris and Justin Nicholson in the top of the seventh.

"All we wanted was a shot to win, and I think they put us in that position," Potlatch coach Jim Shepherd said. "We just didn't finish it."

Nicholson led the way at the dish for Potlatch with his three-hit performance, while Dylan Andrews and Jarod Grady each added two base knocks in the loss.

"We've got so many young kids coming back, we've got such a big sophomore crew," Shepherd said. "All of our pitchers are underclassmen, so that's a good thing. These guys showed they could pitch the ball, so (next year) should be exciting."

Potlatch 032 000 2-7 10 3

Genesee 111 110 3-8 13 4

Dylan Andrews, Connor Akins (5), Kyle Lynas (7) and Braden Morris. Kolby Moser and Shannen Ney.

Potlatch hits - Justin Nicholson 3, Dylan Andrews 2, Bailey Clark, Jarod Grady 2, Kyle Lynas, Chris Hamburg (2B).

Genesee hits - Hayden Woods 5 (3B), Kolby Moser, Tyler Qualey, Dawson Durham (2B), Shannen Ney, Marcus Johnson 3 (2B), Coy Stout.

Genesee 17, Prairie 7

Prairie left fielder Luke Schwartz could only watch from the warning track as the ball sailed over his head and disappeared behind the outfield fence.

Hayden Woods of Genesee had just crushed the first home run of the Idaho Class 1A state tournament, and as the catcher rounded third, he tapped his wrist as if checking his watch.

The Pirates may have put up a fight, but it was time for the Bulldogs to shine.

Genesee advanced to the title game with a mercy-rule 17-7 drubbing of Whitepine League foe Prairie during an early-morning semifinal game played at Rasmussen Field.

"The growth that I've seen from this group throughout this process has been something I'm beyond proud of," Bulldogs coach Kevin Maurer said. "... They have put the work in - day in and day out - and it got them to this moment."

Woods' two-strike bomb had an unofficial distance of 345 feet, but it wasn't the only offensive highlight for the Bulldogs. Shannon Ney went 5-for-5 at the dish, Marcus Johnson and Dawson Durham combined for six hits and Coy Stout added two doubles in the win.

"It was fun to light up the scoreboard, especially in a big-time game when guys are hitting the ball really well," Maurer said.

Spencer Schumacher provided a spark for Prairie in the loss with his three-hit performance, while Sam Mager added two singles and Jace Perrin recorded a double-bagger.

"There's no quit, these guys don't quit on anything, they never have and they never will," Pirates coach David Shears said. "I told them, 'If you lose this game, so be it, but it doesn't define any of us.' They got a lot of life left ahead of them, this is just a stepping stone and a learning situation."

Coy Stout went the distance for Genesee on the mound, striking out seven and giving up nine hits in six innings. Tate Berdoy tossed the first three frames for Prairie before Jace Perrin entered in relief, as the duo tallied six punchouts and gave up six earned runs.

"Coy gives you a chance to win every single game," Maurer said. "Even when we make mistakes out in the field, he can internalize that and not put it back on those guys. He understands that he's going to go out and make the next pitch."

The loss wraps up a 13-10 season for the Pirates, who return the bulk of their roster next spring with the exception of four graduating seniors.

"We should have some excellent pitching depth next year and a lot of experience," Shears said. "Should be able to compete, but we have to learn how to stop kicking the ball all over the yard."

Prairie 200 050- 7 9 5

Genesee 251 423-17 16 2

Tate Berdoy, Jace Perrin (4) and Sam Mager. Coy Stout and Hayden Woods.

Prairie hits - Sam Mager 2, Luke Schwartz, Tate Berdoy, Spencer Schumacher 3 (2B), Derek Arnzen, Jace Perrin (2B).

Genesee hits - Hayden Woods 2 (HR), Kolby Moser, Coy Stout 2 (2-2B), Shannon Ney 5 (2B), Marcus Johnson 3 (2B), Dawson Durham 3.

Potlatch 11, Glenns Ferry 4

The defending state champions needed just one inning to make a statement in the Idaho Class 1A semifinals.

It didn't matter which pitcher Glenns Ferry had on the mound, the batter's box served as a revolving door for the Potlatch lineup, as the squad mashed eight hits and pushed 10 runners across the plate in the opening frame.

When the dust finally settled at Rasmussen Field, the Loggers had claimed an authoritative 11-4 victory to advance to the tournament title game.

"I was pretty nervous because we had such a late night, so I didn't know how they were going to start," Potlatch coach Jim Shepherd said after his team escaped an extra-innings thriller against Lapwai on Friday night. "When you can put 10 on a team in the first inning, that was huge."

Cota Hadaller plated the first run of the contest on an RBI single through the left side of the infield. The sequence helped jump-start a 10-run frame for the Loggers as the squad nearly batted around the lineup twice in the opening inning.

"I thought we hit the ball really well," Shepherd said. "... I was just glad that we woke up from the bus ride and were able to hit the ball."

Connor Akins hurled three shutout innings for Potlatch before loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth. The Pilots tallied four runs in the frame before reliever Kyle Lynas took the mound and put an end to the scoring threat.

"We kind of got tired there in the later innings," Shepherd said.

Austin Comstack led off the sixth with a double to the left-center gap and advanced to third when a fastball bounced between the catcher's legs. Bailey Clark followed with a hard chopper to the third baseman later in the inning, but the infielder was unable to get the throw cleanly to first, which gave Comstack enough time to safely reach home.

"I would have liked to have gotten more guys in the game," Shepherd said. "When you jump up 10-0, you're hoping your underclassmen can get in at the end, but it didn't work out for us."

Potlatch (10)00 001 0-11 15 1

Glenns Ferry 000 400 0- 4 4 4

Connor Akins, Dylan Andrews (4), Kyle Lynas and Braden Morris. Tanner Martinez, Carson Grigg (1) and Keyton Cook.

Potlatch hits - Bailey Clark 4 (2B), Connor Akins 3, Jarod Grady, Cota Hadaller, Chris Hamburg 2, Kyle Lynas, Dylan Andrews, Justin Nicholson, Garrett Thompson.

Glenns Ferry hits - Oscar Sanchez (2B), Manny Garcia, Dillon Traudt 2.

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Joshua Grissom can be reached at jgrissom@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @JoshuaGNews.