On an emotional senior night Monday, the Ole Brook Lady Panthers downed the Lady Bulldogs of Franklin County 10-3.

Emotions filled the park as the Lady Panthers dedicated the game to their fallen teammate Brittney Hill. With tears wiped from their eyes after recognizing Hill, the Panthers took the field. The Lady Panthers scored eight runs in the second inning to take full control of the game, and they never looked back.

“I struggled with some of my pitches but was able to hit other pitches,” senior Panther Jadeyn Fuller said.

With both teams having no luck reaching base in the first inning, the Lady Bulldogs jumped on top of the Lady Panthers in the top of the second with two runs.

Sydney Scott led off for the Franklin County girls with a single. Facing two outs, Colleen Parker notched a single.

The Lady Bulldogs scored the first runs of the game on a two-RBI single by Kenyata Griffin. The Lady Panthers got out of the inning on a line drive to second base.

“We’ve been struggling with our bats a little bit, but they came around really good tonight,” Lady Panthers senior Rileigh Allen said. “Our defense played pretty good tonight.”

The Panthers took over the game in their half of the second, scoring eight runs.

With one out, senior Jadeyn Fuller reached first off of an error. Senior Haley Nations followed with a single. Sophomore Meg Foster got the scoring started for the Lady Panthers with a hard hit two-run triple, and she later stole home plate. Sophomore Kyla Henderson then drew a walk.

Junior Kat Wallace followed by hammering a two-run double. Sophomore Lynsey Nations continued the scoring with a RBI triple and later scored on an error. The Panthers scored two more runs before the end of the inning.

The Lady Panthers added one more run in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Henderson drew her second walk of the contest bringing in a run. Franklin County was able to limit the she-panthers to just the one run in the inning.

The Lady Bulldogs scored their final run of the game in the fifth inning. With one out, Kaytlyn Smith reached first on an error. Chasney Green followed with a single. Tabitha Thomspon brought in her team’s final run on an RBI sacrifice.   

The Lady Panthers finished their scoring in their half of the fifth, bringing one run in. Sophomore Madi Miller led off with a single. Wallace followed with a single. Senior Rileigh Allen brought in the final run of the game on an RBI single, giving Brookhaven a 10-3 win.

“Our girls played really well,” Lady Panthers coach Mandy Vinson said. “We hit the ball well. Jadyen hasn’t thrown in a while, and she pitched extremely well tonight.”

Fuller picked up the win for the Lady Panthers going six innings, while allowing three hits and three runs, two earned, while picking up four strike outs.

Smith took the loss for the Lady Panthers going six innings, allowing nine hits and 10 runs while picking up three strike outs.

Wallace led the Lady Panthers with a single, double and two RBIs. Haley Nations had two singles and an RBI. Foster had a triple, two RBIs and a stolen base. Lynsey Nations had a triple and an RBI. Miller had two singles. Allen had a single and an RBI. Eighth-grader Kyja Willis had two stolen bases. Henderson had one stolen base and an RBI.

Griffin led the Lady Bulldogs with a single and two RBIs. Scott had a single. Green also had a single. Thompson finished with an RBI.

The Brookhaven Lady Panthers hosted North Pike Tuesday, winning 5-3, and will head to Loyd Star to take on the Lady Hornets Friday.

Story by Dave Linton