The Brookhaven Academy Lady Cougars (9-3-1) moved their district record to 2-0 on Monday with a 12-1 win over Adams County Christian School in five innings.

BA looked sluggish early as they were coming off a tournament on Saturday at Marshall Academy in Holly Springs. The team arrived back home around midnight and had played eight games over the previous five days.

Errors would be the biggest problem for the Lady Rebels as they committed six in the game, including an error that put BA up 1-0 in the first inning. In the second, more errors led to BA having runners on second and third. That led to Lady Cougar first baseman Kensy Covington, a seventh-grader, roping a double to the gap that scored two runs and put BA up 3-0. Covington then scored later in the inning on a perfectly placed bunt by sophomore Madison Moak.

ACCS starting pitcher Becca Cowen did a solid job in jamming the BA hitters inside through most of the first four innings. When the Lady Cougars adjusted in the fifth, the runs flooded in as BA scored eight times in the frame to end the game.

Moak led off the fifth with a double and then scored on a two-bagger by Abby Grace Richardson. A Bailee Goodson RBI single then brought Richardson around to home and put BA up 6-1. Junior Madi Smith then smacked a home run over the right-center fence to plate three more runs. The coup de grace came later in the inning when Moak smoked another deep ball out of center field to enact the mercy rule.

Smith went five innings on the bump and scattered five hits while giving up a single earned run. She struck out eight and walked two. In the second and third innings ACCS had runners on first and second with two outs, but both times Smith answered with strikeouts to end the threat.

The visitors from Natchez got on the board in the top of the fifth when Georgia Martin scored after starting the inning off with a double. BA got out of the inning when senior second baseman Kaylie Burgess made an excellent stab to rob Heidi Zimmerman of a base hit and force the final out at first.

“We’re still trying to find our roles at the plate,” said BA head coach Becky Flowers. “Who’s going to hit for power and who’s going to get on with contact. We weren’t great this weekend at the Marshall tournament, but I liked the way we responded tonight after starting a little slow.”

In Holly Springs, the Lady Cougars lost 6-4 to Magnolia Heights and tied Marshall 1-1. On Friday, BA beat Columbia Academy 5-4 on the road. Up next is a Thursday trip to face district foe Silliman Institute. The Lady Wildcats are 7-4 and have a traditionally strong program.

“Silliman is good year in and out and this will a big game since they’re now in our district,” said Flowers. “We’ll play them at their place Thursday and then host them here Tuesday in a really important game.”