A tough, gritty, in-county rivalry was on display when the Brookhaven Lady Panthers took on the West Lincoln Lady Bears Tuesday night. Brookhaven won the first matchup of the season between the two teams 8-2 at the Panther softball complex.

“The girls played a very good defensive game tonight. We have been working on cutting down errors and making the big plays against good teams. We were able to do that tonight and execute at the plate well. Jada Henderson had a big three-run homerun that capped off the night,” said BHS coach Mandy Vinson. “West Lincoln has a really well-coached team and always plays a tough game against us.”

The Lady Panthers (18-6, 2-0) will continue action today when they host the Loyd Star Lady Hornets for Senior Night. Varsity action begins at 5 p.m., followed by the junior varsity game.

Brookhaven 8, West Lincoln 2

Brookhaven jumped out early to put three runs on the board. West Lincoln would score one in the second with a solo homerun by McKenzie Pyles.

The Lady Panthers tacked on their final runs of the contest with a two-out, five-run rally that included a three-run homer by Jada Henderson in the bottom of the third inning.

The Lady Bears scored their final run of the contest in the top of the sixth, but it was not enough as Brookhaven prevailed 8-2.

The Lady Panthers finished with eight hits during the game.

Jada Henderson powered the Lady Panthers with a homerun. Katherine Shell and Macy Ziskin contributed a double each. Hitting safely were Tia Bussey, Kat Wallace, Madison Thompson, Haley Speaks and Cheyenne Motley.

West Lincoln finished with two hits in the contest. McKenzie Pyles directed the Lady Bears with a homerun and a double.

Katherine Shell was the winning pitcher for Brookhaven. She gave up one hit and had eight strikeouts and one walk in five innings of play. Madison Thompson came to the mound and pitched in relief in the sixth and seventh innings. Thompson gave up one hit and had one strikeout and one walk.

Megan Gerald suffered the setback for the Lady Bears with four strikeouts and two walks.

In JV action, Brookhaven fell to the Lady Bears 7-5.

Cheyenne Motley paced the Lady Panthers with a triple. Meg Foster had a double and a single, Maley Moak provided two singles and Lydia Butler had a single.

Madelynn Thornton was the top hitter for West Lincoln with a double. Jana Case, Georgianna Allen and Madison McNatt contributed a single each.

Jadeyn Fuller and Madison Thompson split duties on the mound for Brookhaven. Fuller had three strikeouts and five walks in two innings of play. Thompson had three strikeouts and one walk also in two innings of play.

West Lincoln also used a two-pitcher rotation. Ashley Tabor started the game and pitched two innings. She had five walks and no strikeouts. McKenzie Pyles pitched the third and fourth innings for West Lincoln and finished with four strikeouts and no walks.