MONTICELLO – The Lawrence County Lady Cougars defeated the North Pike Lady Jaguars 13-8 in Division 7-4A high school softball action Thursday night.

Meleah Howard’s girls improved to 11-1-1 overall and 3-0 in the division by beating North Pike, which has dominated Division 7-4A play in recent years.

LCHS jumped to a 9-1 lead through four innings, then fought off a challenge from the heavy-hitting Lady Jags. Lawrence County got 13 hits in the game, and North Pike hammered out 15.

Pitcher Berri Rogers went three for three at the plate, while also pitching a solid game. Rogers walked just one in seven innings. Jazmin Thomas, Alexsundria Thomas, and Cierra Horton each had two hits. Horton and Lexie Johnson each drove in three runs.

Sarah Brock went three for three and scored three runs to lead North Pike. Jana McEwen, Madison Bigner, Allie Summers, and Lauren Wells each had two hits. It was Wells’ fifth-inning grand slam home run that got the Lady Jaguars back into the game, cutting that 9-1 deficit to 9-5.

When threatened by North Pike, Lawrence County continued to pile on runs. The Lady Cougars scored two in the bottom of the fifth to make 11-5. When North Pike added three more in the top of the sixth to make it an 11-8 game, the Lady Cougars responded with two more of their own in the bottom of the inning.

LCHS also won in junior varsity action, 5-4. The Lady Cougars will host McComb in another big Division 7-4A double-header on Tuesday.