PINETOWN — A three-run third inning helped push Northside past local foe Southside, 7-3, Wednesday evening. The win evens the Panthers’ 1-A Coastal Plains Conference ledger at 3-3 while the Seahawks fall to 1-5.

It was a tale of two teams in that things plaguing the Panthers earlier in the season seem to be problems of the past. Their defense isn’t quite perfect yet, but errors aren’t compounding on each other like they have been previously. Lefty Zach Woolard put in a complete game in what coach Keith Boyd said is the best pitching performance they’ve had yet. Batters are continuing to make contact with the ball, too, but now the shots are falling into gaps.

“We haven’t been able to control our second pitches — our changeups and curves — and ‘Lefty’ was right on top tonight,” Boyd said. “He pitched tonight. He wasn’t just out there throwing. … We’re starting to grow up a little bit. We’ll still have a boo-boo here or there, but we’re not hanging our heads. We had a few errors there, but we got out of the innings. We didn’t come back and make the second one like we were earlier (in the season).”

Meanwhile, Southside is struggling to get back to the form that made it so successful a short while ago in the Easter tournament. The Seahawks are playing a more rigid game that’s inhibiting their ability to compile hits and make some routine defensive plays.

“We’ve won one game in conference and we’re a better team than that,” Southside coach Kevin McRoy said. “We’ve got to play with a little aggression and with a chip on our shoulder. … They have confidence, but they’ve got to play with it. Play with a little swagger. You come out, play loose and play having fun and things happen.”

Northside, trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the third, was able to load the bases with no outs. Brock Marsh, Chase Sauls and Ethan Cosentino were able to knock in runs in successive fashion to take a 3-1 lead.

Southside was poised to respond in the fourth. With two outs, Chase Nobles drilled a backside hit through the right side that plated Dahlton O’Neal and put the Seahawks within one.

The Panthers got that run back in the bottom of the frame. Jensen Hawkins found himself in scoring position with two outs and came across on Parker Boyd’s base hit to centerfield. They were looking to do more damage when they loaded the bases, but Southside pitcher Paul Radford induced a groundout to escape the inning.

Northside added another two-out run in the fifth. James Barrow breezed his way around the bases when he stole second and third after drawing a walk. It paid off when he scampered in on a passed ball.

The Panthers took a five-run lead in the sixth when Terry Moore, who just relieved Radford, walked in two runs.

The Seahawks scraped up a run in the seventh, but the deficit proved too large. Lawrence Brown led off with a single to right field and was eventually plated by Hunter Sparks.

Both Northside and Southside have tough tests ahead. The Panthers host top-ranked East Carteret while the Seahawks host the conference’s No. 3 team in Bear Grass.