TERRY – The Terry Bulldogs defeated the Lawrence County Cougars 4-3 in Saturday afternoon high school baseball action, at Terry High School. Shayne Hoskins pitched six strong innings for the Bulldogs, and Patrick Hodges had an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to propel Terry to victory.

With the win, Jerry Gibson’s Bulldogs improved to 15-7 on the season. Lawrence County, coached by Cory Keyes, fell to 13-12 on the year. The Cougars will conclude their 2014 season on Tuesday, hosting Hazlehurst.

“We played a good game today,” Keyes said. “We didn’t do quite enough at the plate, though we did get some timely, clutch hits. I thought Kody (Smith) gave us a great effort on the mound, and we defended fairly well.”

Terry put together three singles in the bottom of the first to grab a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs got two runs on three singles in the third, making it a 3-0 game.

LCHS got back into it in the top of the fifth. Joshua Stephens led off by drawing a base on balls. Kasey Durr moved Stephens to second with a one-out single. After a strikeout, freshman right fielder Marcus Atterberry laced a two-out double to left, driving home both Stephens and Durr and making it a 3-2 game.

The Cougars tied it in the top of the sixth. Catcher Will Jackson hit a one-out double. Courtesy runner Marcus Kees moved to third on Stephens’ groundout, and scored on Gabriel Lewis’ sharply hit single past Terry second baseman Tristan Anderson.

In the bottom of the sixth, Anderson led off with a base on balls, was bunted to second, and scored on Hodges’ two-out single to right field. Terry reliever Jase Dalton closed out the Bulldog win by retiring the Cougars in order in the seventh inning.

Anderson, Hodges, and Buchari Brown led Terry with two hits each. Shayne Hopkins, the Bulldogs’ senior southpaw, held the Cougars to six hits over six innings, striking out five.

Lawrence County got two hits from T-Tez Cole. Jackson, Atterberry, Lewis, and Durr each got one hit. LCHS junior righty Kody Smith gave it a grand fight in defeat. He scattered nine Terry hits and struck out five. Without his best fastball on Saturday, Smith kept Lawrence County in the game with changeups and breaking balls.

“Early in the game, I didn’t think Kody had a lot of pop,” said long-time LCHS assistant Craig Davis. “For him to give us a strong six innings is just a credit to his competitiveness and tenacity. He did a great job.”

Lawrence County won 3-1 in junior varsity play, riding the strong pitching effort of eighth-grade left-hander Brandon Bullock. Bullock allowed four hits and struck out five.

After the game, Lawrence County head coach Cory Keyes informed his team that Tuesday’s game against Hazlehurst will conclude his 10-year run as the Cougars’ head baseball coach. Keyes’ LCHS teams enter Tuesday’s game having won 212 games, while losing just 90. Keyes’ best season as head coach was in 2006, when the Cougars went 30-6 and advanced to the South Mississippi 4A finals.

“It’s time,” said Keyes. “I’ve enjoyed this tremendously. This program has been a huge part of my life, both as a player and coach. It will continue to be a big part of my life, but it’s time for someone else to take the helm.”