The Georgiana Lady Panthers rallied late to overcome the Greenville Lady Tigers 9-8, earning the first win over their Class 5A local rivals in several years.

Georgiana head softball coach Ezell Powell said that there were a number of strong individual performances that paved the way to the Lady Panthers’ fourth win of the season, but it was ultimately a team victory.

“The girls did a good job at the plate hitting the ball, and we’re sort of getting a little bit better of playing through adversity,” Powell said.

“Usually, we’ll get in adverse situations and let it bother us, and we would unravel and fall apart, but we’re doing a good job of keeping our composure and playing through the tough times.  I think the key was them playing together, believing in each other and coming through in crucial situations.”

The Lady Panthers went up 5-1 early on and sustained the lead until the top of the fifth inning, when the Lady Tigers mounted a rally of their own and strung together 3 runs to cut the deficit to 1.

“We didn’t get down on ourselves too bad,” Powell said.  “We just came back and competed in the sixth inning and went up 6-4, but then they came back in the bottom of the sixth and went up on us 7-6.

“They held it together, came back in the bottom of the inning and scored three runs and went up 9-7, and we got the three outs in the next inning to win the ballgame.”

Powell said that the win over the Lady Tigers was the first in several years, and that a victory against the tough opponent only further confirmed that their hard work continues to pay off.

“It goes back to believing in what we’re doing,” Powell said.

“It really gives the girls a sense of confidence that what we’re doing is actually working.  And now they’ll continue to work harder at what they do because they see when they do the necessary things, they can compete with the teams they get on the field with.  We know we’re not at championship caliber yet, but that’s where we’re headed.  We want to be a top-tier team in everything that we do.”

Courtney Powell pitched six innings and had six strikeouts.

Danielle Tyus was 2-3 at the plate with a run scored.

Tylishia Walton was also 2-3 at the plate and scored 2 runs.

Shakira White, Jazmine Stroud and Demetra Gandy each had 2 runs scored apiece.

The Lady Panthers faced the McKenzie Lady Tigers, the team responsible for Georgiana’s only loss on the season thus far, Tuesday evening, though results weren’t available at press time.

Greenville, Georgiana and McKenzie will face off again this weekend during the Butler County Tournament Saturday in McKenzie.