By Brandon Sumrall/Special to the Advertiser

Fresh off an area championship-clinching win last week and sporting a 10-game winning streak, the Jemison Panthers baseball team was unable to make that streak 11 on April 11, falling to the Helena Huskies 5-1.

A leadoff single by Robbie Lively started the game for the Huskies, and with back-to-back errors by the Panthers (22-8 overall, 5-1 area), Helena loaded the bases with only one out.

Another Panther error on a Sam Praytor ground ball up the middle scored Lively, and a two-RBI double by Jake Busby scored Riley Davis and Praytor to give the Huskies a 3-0 lead.

Phillip Lenior and Gabe Hayes reached for the Panthers in the bottom half of the first inning, but back-to-back ground balls forced both out at second and brought the first inning to an end.

Helena added one more run in the top of the second inning when a Brooks Brophy single up the middle led to an RBI single by Praytor to make the score 4-0 in favor of the Huskies.

With the Huskies (18-14, 4-2) going quietly through the top of the third inning, the Panthers got on the board in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI double by Cody Thompson to score Phillip Lenoir, who reached ona single.

After three, the Panthers trailed 4-1.

After a leadoff double by Lively and a walk to Praytor, the Huskies stranded two in the top of the fourth, but a two-out single by Trae Sanders did little to help the Panthers’ cause as the inning came to and end with no change in the score.

The Panthers retired the Huskies in order through the top of the fifth inning, and with the Huskies returning the favor in the bottom half, the score remained 4-1.

A leadoff single by Jameson Ling set up a Brophy RBI single in the top of the sixth, and with the Panthers going in order in the bottom half of the inning, the game headed to the final inning with Jemison trailing by four.

The Panther defense sat down the Huskies in order in the top of the seventh inning, but a one-out single by Sanders was followed by consecutive outs to bring the game to an end to give the Huskies the win in Game 1 of the doubleheader.

Lenoir led the Panthers at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance with three singles.

Clay Cunningham pitched seven innings for Jemison while allowing one earned run, eight hits, two walks and recording five strike outs.

Busby led the Huskies, going 2-for-4 with a single, double and two RBI. Brooks Freeman pitched seven innings for Helena with six hits, two walks, four strikeouts and one earned run.

In Game 2, the Panthers rebounded, taking a 7-6 win over the Huskies.