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Carolina Forest baseball didn't have its A-game on offense for much of Monday's matchup against North Myrtle Beach.

But when it mattered most, the Panthers came up clutch to secure a key series-opening road win over the Chiefs.

Down 3-1 going into the top of the seventh inning, the Panthers didn't blink while down to their final three outs. They managed to cause some chaos in the final frame, setting up Jackson Meyers to hit a go-ahead two-RBI single to give the team a 4-3 lead, one that would stick to advance Carolina Forest's Beach Region record to 6-1.

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After the win, head coach Wayne Riser had a simple message: the come-from-behind win against North Myrtle, which entered the night with a perfect region record, was a statement of the groups abilities.

"I told them [after the game] that now they don鈥檛 have to ask themselves whether or not they are good enough," Riser said. "No more self doubt. They have worked hard. These guys have gotten better. They have gotten bigger. They have gotten stronger. They have put the time in. They have come together as a club. They have come together as human beings and players. Now they see who they can be. I think that鈥檚 the biggest message."聽

After Meyers knocked in the go-ahead run, relief pitcher Brice Urso worked a one-two-three scoreless inning in the bottom of the seventh, striking out the last two batters he faced. Urso celebrated with a load roar toward his team's dugout, an emotion-filled response to the first win of the series that could go a long way to deciding the region's winner.

"We needed three outs and my goodness, he just went after it," Riser said of Urso. "That鈥檚 what you want as a reliever. We have the advantage, let鈥檚 shove. Make them hit to beat you. That鈥檚 what he did, and I鈥檓 very proud of him."

The Panthers and Chiefs will meet again on Wednesday before the series finale on Friday, back at North Myrtle Beach.

Carolina Forest continues to be led on offense by standouts like Gatlin Pasco, Parker Reavis, Urso and Meyers, all of whom have batting averages over .300 and have driven in valuable runs for Riser's group.

"It feels really good because we were able to come on the road, on a Monday night, and got this one home," Riser said. "It definitely gives us a bit of personal momentum. But I told them that this is great, but the job is not done. The work isn鈥檛 done. We have two more games against them this week, we鈥檒l go play those and we鈥檒l see what happens."

Carolina Forest softball surges

Just one week after sweeping Socastee to begin region play, Carolina Forest softball was swept by St. James in a heartbreaking series, losing a pair of games by a 4-3 mark, one in extra innings.聽

That up-and-down start to the year is why head coach Richard Howard was pleased to see his team get back on track with a 7-4 win over North Myrtle Beach on Monday night.聽

"The good thing is that this is all learning for us going into the playoffs," Howard said after the win. "We鈥檝e been in a bunch of close games this year, and it鈥檚 seemed like it hasn鈥檛 gone the way we wanted it to. But, it is all learning. Each time we鈥檙e in one of those situations, we鈥檙e learning so [later this year] it won鈥檛 be a stressful situation."

The Chiefs gave Carolina Forest all they could handle in the seventh inning on Monday, scoring three runs in the frame and cutting into the 7-1 Panthers lead that they possessed. But after a mound visit by Howard, Carolina Forest starter Kaysen Warehime settled down to work the game's final outs and secure the series-opening win.

Howard said while he would've loved to see Monday's game finish up without any hiccups, he didn't mind seeing his group show they were to the task.

"Let鈥檚 be honest, I don鈥檛 mind a game where there鈥檚 no adversity and we just get through it," Howard said with a laugh. "But, the good thing is watching them play through it. In the past, when we faced adversity, there would be a letdown or a fear would come in. But this group is a little bit different. They鈥檙e a little more mature. Now when they face adversity, they say 鈥極kay, let鈥檚 go out and end it and get the job done. They are fighting every game right now."

Warehime was the star of the show, not uncommon for the Panthers' star pitcher. The sophomore tossed a complete-game win, allowing just three hits over her first six innings of work.

"This whole team rallies around her, and that鈥檚 good to see," Howard said of Warehime. "She works every day and comes out here trying to get better. Even as dominant as she is, she knows there are still things to work on and she always works really hard at that."

Kylee Warehime, a freshman, leads the team in hitting with a batting average well over .400. She continues to be a key contributor, with other offensive leaders like Sienna Levy and Natalie Nesheiwat.

Even though the Panthers no longer control their own destiny in the Beach Region, Howard has continued to drive home the point that they will continue to approach every game throughout the rest of the year with a "playoff mindset", especially for the final two games of the series against North Myrtle Beach.

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"What we鈥檝e talked about since [the St. James series] is that every game is going to be a playoff game for us right now," the coach said. "Every game, we鈥檙e going into it like we need to win it, just like you would when you鈥檙e in the playoffs. Nothing else matters but winning every game we get into. We had a chance to control our outcome, now we don鈥檛. So now we have to go out and play every game as hard as we can."