BROWNSTOWN
With both doubles teams and the No. 1 singles position in third sets, Brownstown Central had their shot at pulling-out a comeback.
Despite battling until the end, it was the visitors who would finish on top.
Bedford North Lawrence buckled-in at the doubles positions to take a 4-1 win against the Braves on Thursday.
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Senior Luke Cobb picked up the lone win for the Braves in a two-hour match against Ian Dillman.
After dropping the first set 6-3, Cobb built a 5-0 lead before taking the second set 6-2.
Cobb again came out strong to start the third set, going up 4-1 before closing the match at 6-3.
It was Cobb’s first win of the season at the position, after being moved to the top singles spot from a junior varsity spot at the start of 2016.
“The second set, (Cobb) started hitting the ball deeper and harder,” Braves coach Scott Dittmer said. “He kept the other guy on the defensive. He did that all the way to the end. It was a big win for him.”
At No. 1 doubles, Brownstown Central’s Sam Hoff and Sy Zickler were in a dogfight with the Stars’ Alex East and Corbin Bushey.
After taking the opening set 7-5, Hoff and Zickler fell in a second set tiebreaker 7-1.
The Braves wouldn’t bounce back, as East and Bushey claimed the final set 6-3.
In No. 2 doubles action, the Braves’ Jackson Lahrman and Gunnar Zickler mimicked Hoff and Zickler by winning the first set 7-5 against Chris Kidd and Isaac Titche.
Up 4-3 in the second set, the Stars would pull away at 6-4 before winning the third 6-1.
“We came out and won both sets 7-5, and that’s always tough,” Dittmer said. “Then we came out and relaxed a little bit in the second set. It’s always hard losing the second set and coming back to take the third. It was more mental than anything.”
Brandt Callahan defeated Ethan Carlin 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 singles, and Logan Chastain took the No. 3 singles position against Ethan Wischmeier 6-3, 6-1 for the Stars’ singles wins.
Dittmer said he thought his team could have made the come-from-behind victory after trailing 2-0 in match scoring.
“I thought we had a good shot (at beating Bedford),” Dittmer said. “I think No. 1 doubles had a match point and then No. 2 doubles was down a break near the end of the second set. I think it was a winnable match.”
Despite the loss, Dittmer saw improvements in the squad.
“We played a lot better today,” Dittmer said. “We’re getting better. We still need to be more competitive at the other singles positions. I’m really proud of what Luke has done here in the past couple weeks — he has improved a lot.”
Today, Brownstown (4-4) travel to Mid-Southern Conference foes Salem.