After losing Game 1 of a doubleheader, 5-3, to the last-place Savannah Sand Gnats on Friday, the Augusta GreenJackets' playoff hopes were on life support going into Game 2 at Lake Olmstead Stadium.

Through the first four innings of Game 2, it looked like the Sand Gnats were ready to pull the plug on the GreenJackets' season. Then Brian Horwitz sparked a three-run fifth inning and Augusta tacked on four more in the sixth to erase a five-run deficit and claim a 7-5 win.

"I would've told you a week ago that we didn't have a prayer," said reliever Craig Whitaker, who pitched two scoreless innings for the win. "But now ... after Columbus and Rome we kind of turned it on a little bit. We're going to make a run at this."

With the Asheville Tourists' 6-2 win against the first-place Kannapolis Intimidators, the GreenJackets needed to win at least one game Friday to keep the champagne on ice in North Carolina for at least one more day.

They got it, but the loss in Game 1 means the GreenJackets must win their remaining three games, while they need Greensboro to sweep Kannapolis in order to win the second-half title in the South Atlantic League Southern Division.

The GreenJackets (36-30) have won six of their past seven games.

"I don't even know where the spark came from, but I'm glad it came," said shortstop Marcus Sanders, who went 4-for-7 with four runs scored and one RBI.

The spark Friday came from the end of Horwitz's bat. He tore up the Savannah pitching staff, going 7-for-8 with three runs scored and two RBI.

"It was close to perfection," Sanders said. "He had a lot of clutch hits - a lot of hits, period."

Horwitz's two-run double in the fifth inning of Game 2 sent life into a team that was trailing 5-0 through 41 innings. When he scored on Simon Klink's double to right, the GreenJackets had cut the lead to a more manageable 5-3.

In the sixth, Horwitz kept a two-out rally going with a single to left and eventually gave the GreenJackets a 7-5 lead on a wild pitch.

In the past six games, Horwitz has raised his average from .330 to .348 to distance himself from Greenville's John Otness (.333) and Asheville's Matt Miller (.331) in the race for the Sally League batting title.

"It's still baseball," he said. "I'm just trying to get on, to produce. I just happen to be doing good at the plate right now."

Horwitz isn't the only GreenJackets player leading the league in a statistical category.

Left-hander Jonathan Sanchez struck out eight batters in 5Q innings in Game 1 to take the league lead with 166 strikeouts.

Reach Kristy Shonka at (706) 823-3216 or kristy.shonka@augustachronicle.com.