Brookhaven Academy’s Cougars slid by Simpson Academy Thursday night, winning 3-2 to increase their season record to 5-2 overall.

Brookhaven held Simpson to zero hits and zero runs in the first three innings, while BA obtained one hit in the first inning and two hits in the third. Brookhaven Academy sophomore Tanner Watts ran home in the bottom of the third inning with the help of senior Tucker Watts.

Simpson Academy got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning with junior Noah Magee bringing in junior Hooks Harvey. Brookhaven answered back with another run brought in by sophomore Nick Ogden. Simpson brought home a second run from sophomore Preston Franklin, tying the score 2-2.

BA junior Dawson Flowers hit a single in the bottom of the sixth inning, bringing in Tucker Watts and gaining the lead 3-2. Brookhaven held Simpson to zero hits and zero runs in the top of the seventh inning, ending the game and taking home the win.

“I felt really good early in the game and had that rhythm going to where I knew I was going to pitch a good game,” said Tanner Watts. “Obviously, I got a little tired toward the end, but I felt good.”

Brookhaven Academy took the field first with Tanner Watts pitching to his brother and catcher Tucker Watts. Senior O’Neill Burgos was stationed at first base, sophomore Brady Spring was on second, senior Dawson Zumbro was on third base and Flowers was in the shortstop position. The outfield was made up of senior Levi Smith on the left, Ogden at center, and senior Taylor Freeny on the right.

Both teams showed incredible determination and fundamentals to keep the crowd’s constant attention and focused on the action at hand.

With Brookhaven edging out Simpson by only one run, it ultimately came down to simple game play and who was doing the right thing when the time mattered. In this case, it was Brookhaven. Solid performances at the plate and detailed defensive positioning gave BA the edge and the victory over Simpson Academy.

“It was a game of redemption and team effort,” said head coach Tyler Parvin. “With Simpson being AAAA and us being AA, we had to play and win as a team.”

Spring, Burgos, Tucker Watts, Flowers, Ogden and Freeny all had three appearances at the plate. Zumbro, Tanner Watts and Smith each had two at-bats, and sophomore Harrison Brownlee had one at-bat. Spring, Burgos and Flowers had one hit each, while Tucker Watts had two hits. Spring and Flowers hit singles, and Burgos hit a double. Tucker Watts had one single and one double. Tucker Watts, Ogden and Tanner Watts each scored one run with the aid of Tucker Watts and Flowers, who each obtained one RBI.

Tanner Watts pitched the first five innings with 19 at-bats. He had eight strikeouts and one walk, while only allowing three hits and one run. Flowers took over at the top of the sixth and pitched two innings with seven at-bats. Flowers had four strikeouts and zero walks, only allowing one hit and one run.

Ogden caught a pop fly in the first and third innings, Freeny got under a fly ball in the third inning and Smith caught a fly ball in the fourth inning. Tucker Watts caught a pop-up foul in the fourth and fifth innings. Flowers threw to Burgos in the sixth inning for a force-out at first, and Spring and Burgos made the same play in the seventh inning.

Magee pitched all six innings for Simpson Academy and faced 25 batters. Magee had eight strikeouts and three walks, while allowing five hits and three runs. Magee also had two hits at-bat. Franklin was the designated runner for Magee, and both Franklin and Harvey scored one run.

Brookhaven Academy will play in a tournament in Biloxi during the spring break holiday and will host Newton County Academy March 20.