PINETOWN – Kelsey Lang allowed two first inning runners, but from there she cruised, retiring seven straight. The Northside Panthers’ bats, however, were not far behind, scoring in every inning to blast East Carteret 13-1 Thursday in five innings.

Lang got into a bit of trouble in the first with runners on the corner with one out, but a runner interference call at first led to the second out and kept the Mariners off the board.

The next East Carteret batter popped a lazy fly ball to left, which ended any threat for the Mariners in the first, along with the next two innings.

Kendall Alligood got the Panther offense going when she tripled home a pair of runners, and Lang helped her own cause when she picked-up an RBI on a sacrifice fly to center.

Two batters later, second baseman Jessica Cleary, punched one over the fence to give Northside 5-0.

The Northside sticks were back in it when Mackensi Swain crossed the plate in the second after Alligood struck out, but reached on a passed ball. Swain would add to the tally again in the third, when Alex Adams tripled home a pair of runs to make it a 9-0 Northside lead.

“Offensively we stayed back on it and we had some good drives,” Northside head coach Keith Boyd said. “We found some holes, and we had a few drop for us, and we had some hit the gaps for us.”

Back in the circle, Lang continued her dominance, as she induced four ground balls and a strike out during her stretch of retiring seven consecutive.

“I threw a lot of different pitches (Thursday) and I had some movement,” Lang said. “I have practiced that a lot, and when you work hard you win.”

In the fourth, Alexandra Cutler knocked in a pair on single and Cheyenne Franks collected an RBI on a double. Swain knifed a single through the infield to get first RBI on the night and the final Northside run.

During the top of the fifth, Lang looked like she was laboring a bit, allowing three singles and a walk. The third single she allowed, gave East Carteret its only run for the evening, as the next batter lined out to end of the game.

“At the end of the game, they always start to hit your pitches, and you just have to mix it up,” Lang said.

Boyd added, “It was the third time through the lineup, and we have some other things that we’re going to work on, but the first two times they (East Carteret) saw her we mixed pitches well and kept them off balance.”

Lang finished her evening by scattering five hits, walking one and fanning three to collect her 10th win of the season. The Panthers, meanwhile, improve to 13-1 and 6-0 in league play.