Middlesboro did about as well as they could in their home opener against South Laurel on Monday. After just under a month of competing on the road, the Jackets took advantage of the Cardinals’ mistakes on their way to a 13-3 victory in six innings.

The win extends Middlesboro’s record to 5-5 after the team had an impressive showing at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last week.

It was errors by South Laurel that allowed the Jackets to grab and hold on to the lead. The Jackets tallied only five hits but got on base four times on errors. The team also proved to be disciplined at the plate tallying 10 walks on the day.

Five Jackets scored multiple runs during the game. Jacob Spurlock paced the team scoring two runs on one hit and two walks. Chase Elliott finished the night going 1-for-1 with two runs, two RBIs and three walks.

Brad Short scored two runs and tallied one RBI on one hit. He was hit by a pitch twice.

Jacob Mike grabbed the win after pitching 5 1/3 innings. During his time on the mound, he allowed seven hits and three runs while striking out five batters.

For South Laurel, the team tallied seven hits on the day. JJ Ramey paced the team going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a single. Zach Allen scored once as a courtesy runner for Ramey.

Dalton Garland was consistent from the bottom half of the line-up going 2-for-3 with one RBI from the eight spot.

Middlesboro jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second after Short scored on a wild pitch with two outs on the board. The Jackets ballooned the lead to 6-0 after tallying five runs in the third with Short and Elliott registering RBIs in the inning.

The Cardinals cut the lead to five runs in the fourth after an RBI double by Trevor Bowling narrowed the deficit to 6-1. South Laurel cut the lead to 6-2 on a Josh Woolum RBI that scored Garland.

The Cardinals narrowed the lead to three runs in the sixth. After reaching on an error, Reed Marcum scored on an RBI single by Garland to cut the lead to 6-3.

Middlesboro secured the game in the bottom half of the sixth. A pitching change seemed to rock the Cardinals as Woolum walked four batters in a row. A change to Harrison Byrd didn’t do South Laurel any good as the freshman walked the next three batters.

Through that stretch, the Jackets scored five runs to increase their lead to 11-2. After a strike out by Brandon Helton, Short was hit by a pitch to load the bases again. A walk for Elliott increased the Middlesboro lead to 12-3 with only one out on the board.

Collier Elkins clinched the game with a walk-off RBI single to give the Jackets the 10-run victory.

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Middlesboro (5-5) was slated to host Corbin on Tuesday before traveling to Harlan (2-3) for a doubleheader on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

South Laurel (2-5) played Madison Southern (3-3) on Tuesday.

Reach Anthony Cloud at 606-302-9090 or on Twitter @AnthonyCloudMDN