RAYMOND — With all eights on the board, Morris Grant came up aces for Hinds Community College.

Grant’s two-out triple in the top of the eighth inning broke an 8-8 tie and propelled Hinds to a 12-8 win over East Central Saturday afternoon in a key winner’s bracket game of the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Region 23 Tournament.

The victory moves Hinds (33-19) one win away from advancing to the NJCAA’s Division II World Series in Enid, Okla. East Central (38-17) dropped down to the loser’s bracket to face third- ranked LSU-Eunice in an elimination game Saturday night. The survivor of that game will have to beat Hinds twice next Sunday in the title round, which will begin at 2 p.m, at Joe G. Moss Field.

Grant, who had just one hit in nine previous at bats in the regional, knew it was time to deliver.

“I knew I had to get a hit. They shifted their outfield against me, but I saw that hole in left-center and thought that would be a very nice place to send one,” Grant said.

The win left Hinds coach Sam Temple, a Porters Chapel Academy grad and a former Warren Central coach, drained but happy as his Eagles battled East Central for the seventh time this season and in 90-plus degree heat.

“I had to push a lot of buttons today — a lot of buttons,” Temple said.

One of the key moves was to calm his team after a pair of defensive meltdowns in the second and third innings that allowed the Warriors to climb back from a 4-0 deficit.

Six of Hinds’ 17 hits came in the decisive eighth inning off East Central reliever Allen Johnson, who was in his seventh inning of work. Tulane signee Nick Schneeberger led off the eighth with his third hit. Former PCA player Michael Busby then sacrificed Schneeberger to second. Zach Polzin got hit by a pitch to put two on with two out for Grant.

Grant’s triple to left-center made it 10-8. Taylor Bates followed with a single to score Grant. That was all for Johnson.

Hinds then greeted ECC’s new reliever, Tyler Dalton, with three straight hits to produce a fourth run to make it 12-8.

The Warriors had a chance to get some runs back in the eighth, but Temple brought in his closer Josh Clarke with two on and two outs. Clarke hit his first batter, but then got a come-backer to the mound to end the threat.

He then retired the side in the ninth to pick up his 11th save of the season.

Schneeberger had a three-run homer in the sixth to erase a 6-5 Warrior lead. The bomb to left made it 8-6. ECC got a run each in the sixth and seventh to tie it at 8.

Hinds got four in the first off three hits and four stolen bases. Busby’s RBI triple was the key blow. The Eagles then made five errors combined in the second and third innings to allow ECC to score three runs to cut the lead to 5-4. The Warriors took their only lead of the game at 6-5 on Richie Long’s two-run homer in the fourth off Hinds starter Fraser Adams.

Connor Butts (3-0) picked up the win in relief for Hinds. Schneeberger finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs.