Sparta rallied to score four runs in the fifth inning to hand Pinckneyville its first loss of the season 11-9 Monday.
The Lady Bulldogs fell behind 5-0 in the first three innings before answering with a six run fourth inning to take a 6-5 lead.
Pinckneyville answered with four runs in the top of the fifth inning to reclaim the lead, 9-6.
Sparta picked up a single tally in the bottom of the fifth to pull within two at 9-7.
The final blow came when the Lady Bulldogs tallied four times for the 11-9 lead and closed the door in the seventh for the win at home.
“This was a crazy game on both sides of the field,” said Sparta coach Roger Gerlach. “I can’t remember a game that so many unforced errors happened that opened doors to tack on so many runs. Really these don’t come around that often, but when they do you like to be the home team. I am so proud of the way we never quit despite the early deficit to an unbeaten team that is leading the conference race. Corrie Opolka lead the offense going 3-for-4 at the plate and played a flawless second base. Her double in the bottom of the sixth was a key hit in the four-run inning that gave us the win.”
Julian Sroka and Shanell Roberts also had multiple hit days, both going 2-for-4 at the plate with each having key RBIs.  Jade Vaughn, Jamie Woodworth, Taylor Martin, Alexis Kohrs and Allie Valleroy all had  hits in the 12-hit day scoring 11 runs.
 “Not a very good defensive and pitching effort by our team,” said Pinckneyville coach Greg Hale. “We had enough offense to win but failed to execute in the field. This must change if we want to advance in the postseason.”
The Lady Panther offense was led by Mo Ramsey (2-for-3 with an RBI), Emily Miller (2-for-4 with two RBIs), Taylor Cicardi (2-for-4 with an RBI), Sara Malanowski (2-for-4 with two RBIs) and Emily Chapman (1-for-3 with two RBIs).
With the win, Sparta improved its overall record to 10-2 while its conference record evened at 2-2.