As dusk crept in and the field lights warmed up, Maplesville left fielder Natalie Arnold chased down a fly ball in foul territory and swallowed it up to defeat Jemison 8-4.

Courtney Killingsworth struck out a game-high seven Panther batters, as her teammates gave her a horde of run support in an early offensive explosion. The Red Devils (5-1) carried a 7-1 lead late in the game before Jemison (0-5) added three more runs to cut it a little closer.

Leading the charge from the plate for Maplesville was catcher Heather Chambers with 3 RBIs, including a double. Right fielder Wendy Barrett, third baseman Kortisha Morrow and shortstop Morgan Little each contributed an RBI to pad the Red Devil lead.

Tiffany Guin hurled an impressive five strikeouts for Jemison, as shortstop Shelby Lopez knocked three runs in with a timely triple.

But the Panthers could not muster enough offense to catch up entering the final inning down 8-4, as Maplesville’s defense behind Killingsworth’s steady pitching held its home field and marched on to victory.

Maplesville heads to Chilton County High School Tuesday afternoon to square off against the Tigers at 4:30 p.m. Jemison will visit Montevallo High School this Thursday also at 4:30 p.m.

In junior varsity baseball action, Billingsley defeated Maplesville 7-1 Monday night.