PINETOWN — Southside had a rough start to the Northside Easter Tournament Friday. The Seahawks found themselves trailing Columbia, 11-4, after two innings, but battled back for a 14-11 win.

The Wildcats were hitting well to build their early lead. They plated five runs on six hits and an error in the first. They were hitting hard, too. Dustin Cooper and Amar Spencer both had doubles to centerfield to push across two of Columbia’s five runs.

In spite of the early hole, the Seahawks didn’t back down, demonstrating toughness that was prevalent throughout the game. Three errors by Columbia — two of which were committed in the infield — helped Southside respond. Demitrius Ebron and Will Warren helped put a dent in the deficit when they scored on an error in centerfield.

Columbia, still leading 5-3, added half a dozen runs in the second frame. The Wildcats had three consecutive no-out hits, each driving in runs. Southside decided to swap out starting pitcher Dakota Modlin for Dahlton O’Neal after Modlin was tagged for four runs on five hits in the inning. O’Neal, already in trouble with runners in scoring position, gave up two more runs before escaping the inning and leaving the bases loaded.

That was all Columbia’s offense would produce. O’Neal and the Seahawks’ defense was able to strand runners in scoring position in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings to shutout the Wildcats over the latter five frames.

“Dhalton came in and he surprised me. Those were the first innings he’s pitched all year,” said coach Kevin McRoy. “He really looked impressive. I was really pleased with him. It’s good to know we have another pitcher.”

The defensive effort opened the door for Southside to chip away at its 11-4 deficit. The team’s bats came alive in the third and Columbia continued to struggle with routine plays. It allowed the Seahawks to pull within one.

O’Neal batted in Hunter Sparks with a line shot to left field. Dylan Lewis and Josh Crance scored on an error at third base as Southside scored thrice with no outs. Lawrence Brown blooped an awkward ball to the right-field line that was enough to bring home Paul Radford. Ebron and Modlin came across on an error in the outfield to make it a one-run game.

“We stayed aggressive at the plate, which is what I preached to them,” McRoy said. “The hits will come around. We stayed aggressive and the hits came around. They played baseball like we’re capable of.

Crance won the game for the Seahawks when he belted a shot to centerfield that scored Warren and Brown.

“They could have easily hung their heads,” McRoy said. “They battled. I was very pleased. You get down 11-3, a lot of teams are going to hang their heads. Like I told them, Columbia came out hitting the ball one through nine. They were crushing it. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

But Columbia’s hitting wasn’t sustainable. Southside buckled down and showed its resolve to comeback for the win in their tournament opener.