Rival teams Straughn and Andalusia split wins Tuesday at Straughn.

In the first game, Straughn won 13-12, and in the second game Andalusia won, 7-1.

Straughn 13, Andalusia 12

Straughn opened the doubleheader with a one-run win that coach John Fussell said was the Tigers’ first victory ever against Andalusia.

“You know that it’s got to feel good to for these players to get the monkey off their backs,” Straughn coach John Fussell said. “I was really pleased with the way we hit the ball in the first game. I wasn’t real pleased with how we pitched. We didn’t get our curve ball over when we needed to.

“I’m happy for the players because they beat their cross-town rival in the first game,” he said.

Straughn (8-3) was down 5-0 going into the bottom of the third inning before hitting two home runs to help them gain momentum.

Josh Dewrell hit the first home run to bring in Cole Armstrong while Tyler Yelverton doubled to score Zack Stinson.

Nick Allen hit the second home run on a 2-and-2 pitch to bring in Yelverton and tie the game at 5-5.

Chase Parker doubled to bring in the final two runs of the inning and give Straughn its first lead.

The Tigers scored an additional five runs in the fifth inning, including four runs on a grand slam from Yelverton, which brought in Levi Lumpkin, Dewrell and Stinson.

Andalusia (7-8) answered back with five runs of its own in the fifth inning to bring the game within two runs going into the seventh.

In the top of the seventh, Andalusia scored two runs to tie the game for a second time Tuesday on a home run from Brent Shiver.

Straughn’s Cole Armstrong scored his team’s last run to win the game in the seventh inning on a misplayed pop fly.

Andalusia coach Jonathan Rasberry said the loss to Straughn Tuesday was good for the team.

“I thought we did a good job battling back,” Rasberry said. “I hate to say a loss is a good thing, but I think that was one of the best losses I have ever been a part of. I think it made us a better team when we came back in that game and showed our character.”

The leading hitters for Straughn were Josh Dewrell, Zack Stinson, Tyler Yelverton, Luke Fussell and Cole Armstrong.

Dewrell was 2-for-4 with one single and three RBIs; Stinson was 2-for-4; Yelverton was 2-for-4 with one double, five RBIs and one grand slam; Fussell was 2-for-4 with two walks and Armstrong was 2-for-4 with two walks.

Andalusia 7, Straughn 1

Andalusia came back from losing the first game to play defense and hit the ball to win 7-1 over Straughn.

“In the second game, I thought we came out focused through seven innings,” Rasberry said. “We did a great job with (Andrew) Veasey and (Marcus) Ingram (on the mound) finishing it up. The results were a little bit different.

“We played them for seven innings and that’s what I thought we’d do was to stick to our game plan and play for seven innings,” he said.

Andalusia’s Marcus Ingram and Robert Woodall each scored on a two-RBI double from Brent Shiver in the first inning.

In the third inning, Ingram scored on a RBI single from Chris Kelly.

In the bottom of the third, Straughn scored its only run when Yelverton hit an RBI single to bring in Dewrell.

Fussell said even though his team lost the second game, his team grew from the experience.

“When you split, you always want to be able to win the last one,” he said. “For our guys, I think this series is going to make us better because Andalusia is a good ball team. They hit the ball well and I’ll be honest with you, they’re tough. I’m just real disappointed in the way that we didn’t hit the ball in the second game.

“And as far as I know, we have never (previously) beaten Andalusia,” he said. “That should speak volumes to the players and I am very proud of them for that.”

Andalusia managed to score two runs in the fourth when Kelly hit another RBI single to bring in Ingram.

Woodall later scored on a passed ball to bring the score to 5-1.

Shane Culbreth scored in the fifth inning on a Straughn error. Andalusia’s final run came in the sixth inning when Lee Enzor scored on an error.

The winning pitcher was Andrew Veasey, who pitched 6.0 innings, had two strikeouts, five hits, two walks and one run.

Marcus Ingram saved the game with two strikeouts and no hits.

Andalusia will be hosting Harrison County, Ga. and Chowtahatchee, Fla. on Saturday.

Straughn will be playing in Kinston today at 5 p.m. and again on Saturday in Florala starting with the junior varsity team at 10 a.m.