Woodstock took control early, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, and adding one more in the second, to beat Cherokee, 4-2, in a battle of county and Region 5AAAAA rivals Thursday.

It was third victory in a row for Woodstock (6-6, 3-1), which returned to the .500 level with the win.

According to coach Kortney Dempsey, the Lady Wolverines have been playing better since they started focusing again on the fundamentals.

"That's what we've been practicing on," Dempsey said. "We've practicing on the little things and we're starting to play better. We played a good ball game."

Cherokee coach Tonya Carlisle said defensive lapses proved to be costly for the Lady Warriors.

"All I can say is we need to play better defense," Carlisle said. "We're making too many mistakes."

Woodstock pitcher Mattie Dotson gave up eight hits to Cherokee, but only allowed runs to take the win.

Kaitlyn Jackson drove in two of Woodstock's runs, while Andrea Fernandez drove in the other for the Lady Wolverines.

Natalie Rhodes went 3-for-3 and Samantha Young was 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead Cherokee (6-5, 1-3), which has lost its last three.

Woodstock's Linsey Ramakellwan led the game off with a walk before Kathryn Jackson and Dotson singled to load the bases.

Kaitlyn Jackson then doubled to score Ramakellwan and Kathryn Jackson. Andrea Fernandez then singled to score Dotson and give the Lady Wolverines a 3-0 lead.

Cherokee rallied back in the bottom of the first inning as Rhodes and Wells led off with back-to-back singles. Young doubled to score both of them to help the Lady Warriors cut Woodstock's lead to 3-2.

Alex Wilsted added another run for Woodstock in the bottom of the second as she singled, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch to give the Lady Wolverines their eventual margin of victory.

With Woodstock's third win in a row, Dempsey is confident that the Lady Wolverines are now back on the right track.

"That's what I've been telling the team: 'Don't give up on yourselves,'" Dempsey said. "If we do the small things and have faith in ourselves, we will be fine."

Woodstock will play at South Cobb on Thursday, while Cherokee plays at Marietta on Tuesday.