The Charles Henderson High School softball team defeated Headland, 7-4, in the team’s area opener at the Troy Sportsplex on Thursday.

The Trojans built a commanding five-run lead before finding themselves fighting off a Headland rally in the final two innings.

Charles Henderson started off strong with a pair of runs in the first inning. Madison Mehaffey led the home half of the inning off with a single. Lindsey Fox put down a picture perfect bunt down the third base line for an infield single. Becca Hartley would then single to score Mehaffey. Meredith Motes would later loft a fly ball into centerfield allowing Fox to tag and score giving the Trojans a 2-0 lead.

Charles Henderson added three more in the third. Olivia Hudson knocked in one with an RBI single.

Trojan starting pitcher Becca Hartley allowed just one hit through the first five innings, she ran into trouble in the sixth. Headland drew a walk to lead off the inning followed by a single. It seemed as though the home team would escape trouble when Samantha Yarbrough made a fine play at third base. Yarbrough fielded a ground ball with runners at second and third and tossed to first for the first out. Hudson then gunned down the Rams runner attempting to score to complete the double play. Headland would get a two-run homer in the frame and tack on two more in the seventh.

The Trojans will travel to participate in the Slocomb Tournament over the weekend.