MONTICELLO – Lawrence County and Brookhaven baseball and softball fans had plenty to cheer about as both teams played ball Thursday at Lawrence County High School.

In softball action, across the street from the baseball park, the Lawrence County Lady Cougars managed to withstand Brookhaven’s sixth inning rally to defeat the Lady Panthers 9-5.

“I am very proud of my girl’s effort,” said LCHS coach Meleah Howard. “They did a good job fighting through Brookhaven’s late rally to secure the win. Elizabeth Smith and Jordan Harp pitched really well tonight.”

The Lady Cougars (4-0) return to action Saturday, as they prepare to travel to Wesson to participate in the Lady Cobras’ softball tournament. Lawrence County battles Vicksburg at 2:15 p.m. and Florence at 5:45 p.m.

The Lady Panthers (3-3) resume action today as they invade McComb to tangle with the McComb Lady Tigers. Junior varsity action begins at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity game at 6 p.m.

Lawrence Co. 9, Brookhaven 5 

The Lady Cougars came out strong and quickly set the tone of the game in the first inning as they took advantage of Brookhaven’s early mistake to grab a 3-0 lead.

Lawrence County continued to increase their lead in the third and fourth innings to claim a 8-0 advantage after five innings of work.

In the sixth inning, the Lady Panthers managed to get their bats to come alive as they put together a five run explosion and threatened to score more but were cut short as Lawrence County caught the final out to cool off Brookhaven’s late surge.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Lady Cougars would add one more run that would help extend their lead to 9-5 and fend off Brookhaven’s second rally attempt in the seventh inning to preserve the win.

“I really like the way my girl’s fought back in the game,” said BHS coach Chad Walker. “We needed to start hitting earlier to be able to compete with them. Overall, we just committed too many errors against a good team like Lawrence County.”

Elizabeth Smith was the winning pitcher for the Lady Cougars with 11 strikeouts and three walks. Jordan Harp secured the save for LCHS in the seventh with no strikeouts and no walks.

Katherine Shell suffered the setback for the Lady Panthers with five strikeouts and one walk.

Alexsundria Thomas powered the Lady Cougars with a double and two singles. Jazmin Thomas contributed two singles. Alyssa Pendergrass ripped a triple and Lexie Johnson singled.

Katie Grace Culpepper was the top hitter for the Lady Panthers with two singles. Alycen Speaks had a double and Haley Speaks hit a single.

In junior varsity action,  Lawrence County ran past Brookhaven 6-1.

Madison Thompson absorbed the setback for the Lady Panthers with two strikeouts and three walks. Religh Allen (0K, 0BB) saw some action in relief for Brookhaven.

Kat Wallace and Allen paced the Lady Panthers at the plate with a single apiece.