By Trey Hickman | Special to the Advertiser

Jemsion fell 9-2 in the first game of a doubleheader before a heartbreaking sixth inning gave way to a 13-7 loss in Game 2 as the visiting Panthers got swept by Class 4A Area 7 foe Bibb County in a varsity baseball doubleheader on April 5.

Following the Game 1 defeat, Jemison drew first blood in a big way in the nightcap.

Three hit batsmen and an RBI apiece from Will Lenoir, Gabe Hayes and Jacob Bates helped the Panthers plate five two-out runs in the top of the second inning to grab a lead in the early going.

However, Jemison’s advantage quickly evaporated as Peyton Holdsambeck and Bibb County gained ground in the bottom of the inning.

Holdsambeck drove in a pair of runs on a single, while a third Choctaw scored on the hit following a Jemison error.

The teams swapped runs over the next 3 1/2 innings, with Jemison holding a 7-5 edge heading into the bottom of the sixth.

That’s when the Panthers’ hopes were dashed.

Headlined by a three-run double from Kade McGee, Bibb County erupted for eight runs — all with two outs — as the Choctaws charged back to seize a 13-7 advantage before the final inning.

In the top of the seventh, a Chase Deason single would prove all the offense the Panthers would muster in their final at-bat, and Bibb County took the six-run win.

The evening left Jemision’s Jason Easterling one understandably unhappy.

“You have to hold the lead,” Easterling said. “We held it until we changed pitchers (in Game 2). Then after that we just quit hitting. In Game 1, we [spotted them five runs] in the first inning, and if we don’t, it’s a different ballgame.

“When it’s ‘gut check’ time, you have to go, and right now we’re not going.”

Relief pitcher Phillip Lenoir took the loss for Jemision, lasting 2/3 of an inning.

Offensively for the Panthers, Jacob Bates went 1-for-2 with two RBI while Gabe Hayes and William Lenior logged an RBI each.

Jemison dropped to 9-15 overall and 2-4 in Class 4A Area 7 play.