THOMASVILLE —  Unlike their first matchup of the season, the second softball game of the year between the Thomasville Bulldogs and Brookwood Warriors was a battle until the last out.

The Warriors led 2-0 early, but the Bulldogs stormed back and survived a seventh-inning home run to take a 5-4 home win on Monday night.

Brookwood’s senior duo of Dara Moore and Landry Joyner made its presence known very early. Moore doubled for the Warriors’ first hit in the first inning, and Joyner brought her in with a double of her own to make it 1-0.

It was the first knock of a very productive night for Joyner, who finished the game 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. Joyner took the night off as Brookwood’s ace, leaving Abby Lee the task of shutting down the Bulldogs’ bats. 

For the first two innings, she was successful, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first before sitting down three straight batters in the second. She took the loss but kept the Warriors in the game, striking out two over six innings pitched.

In the third, Brookwood extended its lead to 2-0 when Lee scored Joyner on a sacrifice bunt. However, Thomasville began its comeback in the third, when a Jordan Williams groundout scored Emily Dukes. Elli Stone scored one batter later to tie the game, with a single from Malorie Turnbull.

The Bulldogs took the lead in the fifth, with Dukes and Stone both crossing the plate for the second time. Williams and Mallory Fletcher brought them in with a single and a sacrifice fly, respectively. Haley Palmer came through with a single in the sixth, scoring Eve Phelps.

Down 5-2 in the final inning, Brookwood did not go away quietly. Joyner connected on a two-run home run to left to narrow the deficit to a single run, but the Bulldogs were able to hang on.

Turnbull earned the win in the circle for Thomasville, pitching all seven innings. She struck out three and allowed eight hits. Dukes went 2-for-4, while Stone went 1-for-2 with a walk and a fielder’s choice.

Thomasville will travel to Moultrie to play Colquitt County today at 5:30 p.m., while Brookwood will host Westwood at Fenlon Field at 4:30.