MONTICELLO – Lawrence County and Enterprise closed out the baseball regular season and tuned up for this weekend’s playoff action with a Tuesday evening game at Jimmie Davis Park. Josh Garrett’s Cougars won by a score of 11-2.

With the win, Lawrence County improved to 23-1 on the season. The Cougars, winners of Division 6-4A, will host Northeast Lauderdale in the opening game of a best-of-three playoff series Friday. Enterprise, coached by Cass Brister, fell to 12-8 on the campaign. The Yellow Jackets will also open at home in the 2A playoffs, hosting Richton.

On Tuesday, the Cougars scored five runs in the bottom of the first, and never trailed. Brandon Bullock had a double, and Gabriel Lewis and Rishad Haynes had singles. Josh Stephens and Marcus Kees both drove home runs with sacrifice flies.

Lawrence County upped its lead to 6-0 in the second, when T-Tez Cole slammed a solo homer. It would remain 6-0 until the top of the fifth.

In the fifth, Enterprise put together five singles to tally two runs. Marvin Butler, Brady Watts, Hunter Richardson, Cade Cangemi, and Landon Gartman all had hits in the frame. That fifth inning was reflective of the entire game for Yellow Jacket hitters. Enterprise actually outhit Lawrence County – 10 to 8 – but scratched only two runs on those 10 hits.

Lawrence County responded immediately to Enterprise’s two runs, putting up four of its own in the bottom of the fifth. Rishad Haynes had an RBI double and Brennan Lang added a run-scoring single. Kasey Durr plated a run with a sacrifice fly. In the sixth inning, the Cougars added one more, as Marcus Kees singled, stole second and third, and scored on a Gabriel Lewis single.

Prentiss Anderson, Marcus Atterberry, Kasey Durr and Brandon Bullock pieced together the mound effort for Lawrence County. Anderson started and got the win. Bullock racked up the staff’s only two strikeouts.

Jeffery Daniels started and went four and 1/3 innings for Enterprise. He was relieved by Trevor Freeman in the fifth. They combined to allow eight hits and struck out three. Richardson led the Yellow Jackets’ 10-hit attack with three hits. Gartman had two hits.

Lawrence County also won in junior varsity play, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth for a 4-3 win. The LCHS jayvees had just four hits, but three of them – doubles by Marquez Hudson and Trey Harvey and a single by Oliver Moreman – came in the decisive rally. Peyton Little also had a hit. Five different hurlers each pulled one inning of mound duty for the Cougars.

Zach Hodges led off the game with a homerun for Enterprise. Marvis Butler, Brady Williams, and Peyton Jergins each had hits. Jergins pitched a dandy game, holding Lawrence County hitless until the fourth inning.