MOSS BLUFF — Jake Brown didn’t go quite the distance, but the Sulphur ace went as far as he could in leading the Tors to a 2-1 win over Sam Houston in a District 3-5A game Thursday night.

Brown pitched 6⅔ innings, leaving one out shy of a complete game due to pitch-count rules. Kohl Navarre got the save, allowing a walk before the Tors scrambled to get the final out at second on a missed pop-up.

Brown allowed two hits and walked three.

The Tors (24-6, 8-3) coaching staff debated pulling Brown after the sixth, but he asked to stay in.

“I still had six pitches left, so I figured I could get one or two guys quick so we could save arms for Saturday,” he said. “I was throwing all my pitches for strikes today, that was the big thing.”

Tors head coach Sam Moore said fatigue isn’t an issue for Brown, who didn’t pitch last year while recovering from arm surgery,

“He just gets stronger the further the game goes,” Moore said. “That’s a testament to his character. This is the first time we took him to the pitch count like that. He was in shape and ready to do it. I couldn’t get the ball from him any way.”

Sam Houston (21-6, 8-3) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. Ashton Fuselier reached on an infield single and scored on a single to left by Dylan Thompson. The Broncos left the bases loaded when Tors first baseman Dillon Bird snared a line drive to end the inning.

Sulphur threatened in the top of the fourth when Gage Trahan and Bryce Fontenot walked to lead off the inning, but Thompson, the Broncos’ starting pitcher, forced a pair of ground balls — the second an inning-ending double play — to escape unharmed.

The Tors took a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Cooper Devall was hit by a pitch. Pinch runner Slade Shove-Knox scored on a two-out single by Damian Stone, who scored the go-ahead run on an infield single by Brown.

The teams will play again Saturday in Sulphur. Both teams are within a game of Barbe (28-2, 8-2) in the district title race.