Ole Brook rallied in the sixth inning to jump out of a five-point hole, getting the edge on Lawrence County late for an 11-8 win Tuesday.

Errors almost proved too costly for the Panthers to shrug off, as the Cougars took advantage of all those Ole Brook mistakes to build up a 6-1 advantage through five innings. But Brookhaven’s tremendous sixth frame seemed to throw cold water on Lawrence County, and the Panthers went on to add three more runs and shut the Cougars down in the last inning.

“We did bad at first, but kept our heads up as a team and battled our way back into the game,” said Panthers senior Tyler Mixon.

The Cougars got hot in their half of the third inning, sending five runners across the plate on three Ole Brook errors. Lawrence County added another in the fourth inning to lead 7-1.

Brookhaven threatened to catch up with the Cougars in the fifth inning by loading the bases, but Lawrence County got out of the tight spot after allowing only one run, preserving their lead at 7-2.

The preservation was short-lived. Ole Brook’s big sixth inning scored six runners to take an 8-7 lead. Sophomore Byrion Robinson got things going as he worked the count to full and drew a walk. With no outs and runners on first and second, senior Logan Emfinger later hit an RBI single, with a runner scoring to shrink the Cougars’ lead to 7-3. Senior Clint Stephens followed with an RBI single of his own, pushing the score to 7-4.

With the bases loaded and no outs, junior Jacob Porter was hit by a pitch, scoring a run to make it 7-5. With one out and the bases still loaded, Ole Brook scored two more runs to tie the game at 7-all. Robinson gave the Panthers the lead on an RBI single.

Lawrence County tied the game up at 8-all in their half of the sixth. But the Panthers added three runs in the top of the seventh to take an 11-8 lead, and the Cougars were done. Despite starting the bottom of the seventh off with a hit batter, Ole Brook was able to get the next three batters out to outlast Lawrence County 11-8.

“The game was like a football game, a game of two halves. Lawrence County won the first half and we won the second half,” said Ole Brook coach Matt White. “It was a slugfest. I’m proud of our guys for fighting the whole night.”

Porter led the Panthers going, 4-5 with three RBIs. Clint Stephens and Falvey each had two hits and an RBI. Emfinger also had two hits and an RBI. Gatson Walker and Tyler Mixon had one hit and an RBI. Robinson also had one hit and an RBI.

Freshman Tae Cole led the Cougars with two hits and two RBIs. Junior Marquez Hudson had one hit and two RBIs. Brandon Bullock and Gage Daley each had one hit. Evan Lambert and Peyton Little also managed one hit each. Roy Martin and Hayden Mullins finished the hitting with one hit each.

Senior Trace Owens started the game on the mound for the Panthers and went four innings, with three strikeouts. Mixon pitched in relief, going three innings to strike out four batters and picking up the win.

Lawrence County used a combined four pitchers and had a team strikeout count of 10.

“It was a tough game and I kind of felt like we let one get away,” said Lawrence County coach Andrew Haygood. “We made a few errors that kept Brookhaven going.”

Brookhaven will be in action Saturday, as the team travels to Madison to take on Madison Central.

Lawrence County will play Friday as they travel to Wesson. 

Story by Dave Linton