MONTICELLO – The Brookhaven Lady Panthers defeated their archrivals, the Lawrence County Lady Cougars, in an 18-11 marathon Tuesday night in softball action.

     “Glad to get the win,” said Brookhaven coach Chad Walker. “The girls did a great job hanging in there when we were down. They came through with the hits when we needed them.”

     The Lady Panthers (5-2) is schedule to resume action Thursday hosting the Pearl Pirates to start the Region 4-5A race. Junior varsity begins at 5 p.m., followed by varsity at 6:30 p.m.

     The Lady Cougars (3-7-1, 0-2) return to action Thursday, hosting a new Region 7-4A foe, the Tylertown Lady Chiefs. Junior varsity starts at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity at 6.

Brookhaven 18, Lawrence Co. 11

     Softball fans witnessed plenty of offensive fireworks as the Lady Panthers and Lady Cougars lit up the scoreboard.

     In the first through the third innings, Brookhaven roared to an early 6-2 lead, before Lawrence County bounced back to claim an 11-6 lead after three innings of action.

     Ole Brook regrouped after the let down and outscored the Lady Cougars 12-0 in the last four innings.

     Senior Brooke Hosick was the winning pitcher for the Lady Panthers with no strikeouts and nine walks.

     Freshmen reliever Lacey Trott suffered the setback for the Lady Cougars with one strikeout and three walks. Emily Turnage (3K, 3BB) was the starter. Relief pitcher Elizabeth Smith (1K, 0BB) tossed the last 1 and 2/3 inning.

     Ole Brook outhit Lawrence County 17-7. Junior catcher Christen Benson ignited the offensive explosion with triple, double and two singles. Shelby Peavey fueled the flames with four singles. Katherine Shell contributed a triple and a double. Taylor Murray provided a triple and a single. Katie Grace Culpepper and Ivy Smith slapped two singles apiece. Shelby Case hit safely.

     Freshmen Jamie Martin was the leader for the Lady Cougars with a double and a single. Erika Watts ripped two singles. Sam Lee smashed a double. Hitting safely were Lexie Johnson and Smith.

     “We beat ourselves,” said Lawrence County coach Courtney Shivers. “We committed too many errors against a good team like Brookhaven. Overall, the girls played hard, but we just fell short at the end.”

     In JV action, Lawrence County slipped past Brookhaven 4-3. Eighth grader Elizabeth Smith tossed the win with three strikeouts and two walks. Jayde Pennington (1K, 2BB) saw action.

     Katherine Shell absorbed the setback for Ole Brook with four strikeouts and three walks.

     Alexzundria Thomas paced the Lady Cougars with a triple. Madison Hyde and Smith hit safely.

     The Lady Panthers got singles from Danielle Balteste, Ivy Smith and Culpepper.