The Brookhaven High School bats woke up in a big way Monday as the Panthers (9-11) used 12 hits to get a 17-2 win in 5-innings at Wayne County (14-12).

The victory was the clincher in a MHSAA 5A first round baseball playoff matchup as BHS took both road games in the three-game series.

Saturday in game two at Moyer Field, the War Eagles had limited Brookhaven to two hits as junior ace Connor Pittman struck out 12 to get the complete game 5-0 win.

Monday, Brookhaven High sophomore pitcher Jake Meilstrup gave his team a winning effort on the mound as he struck out four and gave up one earned run on five hits.

“I just told Jake to go out there and relax and let his defense work behind him,” said BHS head coach Matt White. “He knew that we had a couple guys we could bring on in relief, but he did a great job of throwing strikes to get the win. I think the two runs we picked up in the top of the first really settled him in.”

As a batter, Meilstrup led the game off with a walk as did fellow sophomore JP Wallace. Both runners moved up on a passed ball and Meilstrup scored on a Maney Miller sacrifice fly.

The Panthers then got one more run in the first when Darius Robinson bunted to third and Wayne County failed to hold the runner. Wallace crossed the plate and BHS led 2-0.

The Panthers got three more in the second, one in the third, three in the fourth and eight runs in the fifth to complete the blowout.

Meilstrup, Miller, Bryson Porter and Addison Brady all had two hits each for the Panthers.

Both Meilstrup and Miller had a double each while also driving in two runs apiece.

Seniors Luke Davis and Matt White led the team with three RBIs apiece. Robinson also drove in two runs while Porter and Jacob Rushing had an RBI each.

Next up for the Panthers is a second-round matchup with Pearl River Central (26-2). Game one will be played Thursday at 7 p.m. in Carriere. Game two is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Moyer Field in Brookhaven. If game three is needed it will be played back at PRC on Saturday.

The Blue Devils of Pearl River Central are rich in pitching as 6-foot-3 junior Justin Robinson has already committed to the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He’s 8-0 on the season with a 0.67 ERA.

Fellow junior Landen Droddy is salty in his own right as he has a 7-1 record with a 1.37 earned runs average.

The only defeats this season for PRC were an early season 4-3 loss to Harrison Central and a 4-0 setback to Poplarville.

The two schools last met in April of 2019, a game won 12-10 by PRC on their home field. From 2014-2015 the programs played each other three times a year as members of Region 6-5A.

“We’ll see some good arms for sure,” said White. “My guys are ready to compete and see what happens for us. I think we’re playing our best ball right now and the team loves being together. That’s a big part of it, who’s ready to stick together and who’s ready to go home. My guys want to keep playing as long as we can.”