SUMMIT — As rivalries go, the Franklin County-North Pikebaseball battle is always a classic encounter no matter the recordor location. Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs wrote another chapterto the rivalry, entitled, “The One They Let Slip Away”

The Bulldogs, who held a 5-2 lead in the sixth inning, had thegame in hand, until the error bug and some combined North Pike hitskilled Franklin County’s upset attack. The Bulldogs endured theirfifth straight loss in the process over a three-year period,falling 6-5 to the Jags.

“It’s so aggravating,” said Bulldog starting senior pitcherBaron Jones about the loss. “We had them, and we let it go.”

Jones, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound hurler, threw a well-rounded game.He struck three Jaguar batters out and allowed three earned runs inseven innings pitched. The craftsman went 2-for-4 at the plate.

“Our kids played their hearts out today,” said Bulldog headcoach Johnny Daves. “We hit the ball hard and made some plays, butthe errors hurt us.”

Daves watched his crew spot North Pike a 1-0 lead off an RBIsingle from Jaguar senior Jeremy Lofton that scored centerfielderLandon Morgan from third. Morgan reached on a stand-up triple.

After a scoreless second and third inning, Franklin (7-7, 3-1)tied the game up off an RBI-single from Jones, which scoredsophomore Dane Hodges from third. Hodges reached base on a triple,before scoring.

The Jaguars (12-3, 6-0) took the lead back in their half of thefourth off an error. The Jags and Bulldogs traded a shutout in thefifth.

“We made plays today,” said veteran North Pike coach GeorgeLott. “We hit the ball really good, but errors killed us.”

North Pike allowed Franklin leadoff batter Jasper O’Quinn toreach first base on an error in the top of the sixth, which gaveFranklin renewed hope. Two batters and seven pitches later,Franklin had the lead off RBI hits from Hodges and Jones. TheBulldogs stretched that lead to 5-2 in the inning, off RBI singlesfrom sophomores Ryan Ratcliff and Justin Steele.

With a three-run lead to their backs, many Franklin Countyplayers thought the Jaguar win-streak was finally near its end, butNorth Pike came back off a solo home run from Michael Spears, and afatal Bulldog fielding error, which allowed two North Pike runnersto score and tie the contest at 5-apiece.

The momentum had shifted.

“Give Franklin County credit, they played well,” added Lott.”Our guys hung in there and pulled it out. Our last hit wasbig.”

After holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the top of the seventh,North Pike used the heroics of a freshmen to win the game. WillHazlewood knocked in Brendan Van Norman from second base. TheJaguars bench cleared and erupted into an uproar ofcelebration.

“This was a real good win for us,” said North Pike seniorpitcher Chase Coon, a former Franklin High Bulldog as a freshman.”We made some big plays when we needed them the most today, and gotthe job done.”

Coon (3-2) went the distance, striking out five Bulldog battersto gain the win. He walked none.

At the plate, the Jaguars were led by Lofton with a 4-for-4performance, that included three singles and a double for an RBI.Van Norman added three stolen bases.

For the Bulldogs, junior catcher Ryan Hall went 3-for-3 withthree singles. King also collected three singles and a stolenbase.

The Bulldogs will host Port Gibson next, beginning Monday at 5p.m. They play Hazlehurst Tuesday evening for a doubleheader at4:30 and Amite County Friday night, beginning at 6.