MONTICELLO-The Lawrence County Cougars rallied from far behind to edge the Brookhaven Lady Panthers 10-9 in high school softball action Thursday night, at LCHS. Trailing from the very beginning, once by as many as seven runs, the Lady Cougars rallied for six runs in the bottom of the sixth, to claim the win.

With the win, Meleah Howard’s Lawrence County girls improved to 8-2 on the season, claiming their seventh straight win after a 1-2 start. It was the Lady Cougars’ toughest win of the year, however, and it wasn’t secured until second baseman Madison Hyde made a leaping grab of Haley Speaks’ wicked line drive, and turned it into a game-ending double play.

“That was quite a win,” said Howard. “We made too many errors tonight, and Brookhaven really hit the ball. It was a tough night in a lot of ways, but that sixth-inning rally and that big double-play made it a good night in the end.”

Mandy Vinson’s Lady Panthers opened the game with six straight hits, and tallied six runs in the top of the first. Ole Brook then tallied single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings to maintain control of the game.

Katherine Shell led Brookhaven with three hits. Fallon Brooks, Jada Henderson, Julianna Porter, and Chantel Quarles each added two hits. Speaks, Tia Bussey, and Kat Wallace also had hits.

Lawrence County got two back in the bottom of the second, a two-out double by Cierra Horton being the big blow. In the bottom of the third, a two-run homer by Madison Hyde cut Ole Brook’s lead to 8-4.

Trailing 9-4 in the bottom of the sixth, Lawrence County batted around, scoring six times on seven hits. The biggest blow was Tiera Collins’ two-run homer.

Brookhaven got runners to first and second with one out in the top of the seventh, only to have its rally foiled by Hyde’s leaping grab. Off the bat, Speaks’ blast appeared to be a game-tying hit.

Cierra Horton led LCHS with three hits. Alexis Johnson and Cheyenne Long each had two. Pitcher Barri Rogers, Hyde, Collins, Jamie Martin, and Callie Fortenberry also had hits.