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The Franklin County Rebels beat the Coffee County Raiders 8-6 at home Wednesday in a first-round game for the District 6-4A tournament.

The Rebels built up their lead in the middle innings and maintained a steady advantage the rest of the way as they upset the top-seeded Raiders to begin the tournament.

The Rebels scored the first run of the contest as Brayden Henley hit into an RBI groundout to score Sam Vincent from third in the top of the first.

The Raiders answered back in the bottom of the second with a leadoff home run to tie the score at 1-1 early.

However, the Rebels quickly pulled back ahead in the top of the third as Gus Gardner hit a two-run single and Graysen McNeese contributed an RBI single later in the frame to give Franklin County a 4-1 lead.

After the Raiders scored a run in the bottom of the third to put the score at 4-2, the Rebels got that run right back in the top of the fourth on an RBI triple by Vincent. The Raiders responded in kind by scoring another run in the bottom half of the fourth to make it a 5-3 game at the contest’s midway point.

The teams traded two runs each in the fifth inning with Franklin County’s scoring in the top half of the frame coming on RBI singles by Payton Miller and McNeese. Coffee County’s two runs in the bottom of the fifth brought the lead right back down to two runs at 7-5 late.

The Rebels’ final run of the day came in the top of the sixth as Gardner hit an RBI double to give his team a three-run advantage once again.

The Raiders scored a run in the bottom of the seventh off of an error and were able to put runners at the corners with two outs in the frame, but Franklin County pitcher Josiah Cullins induced a popout to clinch the victory.

Jacob Hardison pitched the first five innings for the Rebels with three strikeouts, seven hits and five runs allowed for the day.

Cullins recorded a save out of the bullpen after pitching the final two innings with two strikeouts, no hits and one unearned run allowed.

With the win, the Rebels improved to 12-14 on the season.

They will next play Thursday at home against Shelbyville Central High School in a semifinal game for the District 6-4A tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.