NATCHEZ — Tyler Towles already had two hits on the day when he stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with his Centreville Academy baseball team trailing 4-3.

The bases were empty and the Tigers were down to their final out when Towles skied a deep fly ball to left field. But the ball dropped into the glove of Brookhaven Academy left fielder Gage Posey just short of the wall, and for the first time this season, Centreville fell short of winning the ball game.

The Tigers had won their previous 14 games this season, and head coach Jason Horne said this loss would sting for a day or two.

“They are down right now,” Horne said about his players. “Their goal was to go undefeated and win a state championship. The first part didn’t happen but the ultimate goal is still there.”

Horne said he felt his team was not mentally prepared to play Brookhaven Saturday afternoon.

“We weren’t focused,” he said. “We were running our mouths and were lackadaisical.”

Brookhaven took control of the game with runs in each of the final two innings, while Centreville went three-up and three-down in the final two frames. Horne said his team failed to play small ball and manufacture runs in the contest.

“The difference was we couldn’t bunt,” he said. “They bunted and put runners in scoring position late two, maybe three times.”

Both of Brookhaven’s final two runs advanced to second base on sacrifice bunts.

Centreville was the first team on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Hunter Travis walked to start the inning, and Towles scored him with an RBI single. Towles finished the game 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Centreville starting pitcher Colby Shaw was dominant early. He did not allow a hit to the first eight Brookhaven batters while striking out four. But after fanning Gunner Ard to start the top of the third inning, Shaw hit Austin Travis with a pitch that started a Brookhaven rally.

Bubba Keene followed Travis with a single then Will Lucas walked to load the bases for Landon Nettles. Nettles hit a hard ground ball that found the hole between shortstop and third base, and Travis and Keene came around to score to give Brookhaven a 2-1 lead.

Keene had two hits with a run and an RBI to lead Brookhaven offensively.

Centreville fought back in the bottom of the third when Towles reached on a one-out single. Two batters later Randy Bell singled to score Towles to tie the game.

Shaw settled back down and retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings.

The Tigers took the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out solo home run by Cliff Hurst that sailed just over the left-field fence — almost the same spot where Towles fly ball fell just short of going over the fence in the final at bat.

Brookhaven tied the game in the top of the sixth. Lucas led off the inning with a walk, and Nettles bunted him to second. Then Hunter Franklin singled to score Lucas to tie the game again.

The Cougars took the lead in the top of the seventh. Ard singled to start the inning and again Brookhaven was able to move the runner to second with a bunt, this time it was off the bat of Travis.

Keene then singled to score Ard to give Brookhaven the deciding run.

Travis went all seven innings for Brookhaven to get the win. Randy Bell took the loss for Centreville after replacing Shaw to start the sixth inning. Bell gave up two runs on three hits.

Horne said the tough loss would be something that will test his team’s ability to rebound from defeat.

“We just have to regroup and come out to practice Monday with our heads up and work hard, because we have to work on some things,” he said.

Centreville (14-1, 6-0) will face Central Private at home Tuesday.