MONTICELLO-Kody Smith went 3-for-3, and Joshua Stephens pitched 5 strong innings, as Lawrence County defeated McComb 14-2 in Tuesday night high school baseball action at Jimmie Davis Park.

Lawrence County broke open a tight game with 5 runs in the bottom of the third, and 8 runs in the bottom of the fourth. Much of the Cougars’ offense came after McComb starter Henry McDonald was pulled from the game with a swollen throwing hand. McDonald was effective for 2 innings, before the hand issue became a problem in the third.

“Their big right-hander was giving us a tough time,” said Lawrence County coach Cory Keyes. “After he left the game, we had a better time of it. I thought Josh pitched well for us, and Kody had a big night at the plate.”

Smith reached base all 4 times he batted. His third hit was a bases-loaded triple that drove home 3 runs. Smith also scored 3 runs. Stephens, Kewaun May, T-Tez Cole, Logan Greenlee and Gabriel Lewis also had hits for Lawrence County. Two-out RBI hits by Lewis and May, in the bottom of the third, broke the game open.

Stephens, meanwhile, was having a pretty easy time of it with the McComb line-up. He allowed 4 hits and struck out 7 in 5 innings of work. The game was halted by the 10-run rule, after the fifth.

Three of McComb’s 4 hits came in the fourth inning, when the Tigers scored their 2 runs. Chrishawn Speight, Jamiah Andrew, Carlos May and Ja’Terrious Wilson had hits for McComb.

McDonald, a 6’5″ junior, limited Lawrence County to a run on 2 hits through 2 innings. With 1 out and the bases loaded in the third, McDonald’s hand injury forced him to leave the mound. He was replaced by Marquel Carroll, who battled control problems for the rest of the game.

With the win, Lawrence County improved to 8-5 overall, and 1-2 in Division 7-4A play. McComb fell to 6-5 overall, and 0-3 in the division. The two teams will meet again Friday night at McComb’s Rotary Field.