Tristan Helms homered for the third straight home game, and the Pinecrest bullpen pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings to help the Patriots defeat Lee Senior, 6-3, Friday night at John Williams Field.

Helms broke a 3-all tie when he sent Brandon O’Quinn’s 1-0 offering deep to right-center field to start the bottom of the fourth inning. Austin Embler scored on a wild pitch and Dalton Bullard drove in Jackson Smith with a bases loaded walk in the three-run fourth inning.

Helms added a single in the second inning to finish with two of the three Patriot hits.

With the lead, Culley Bayless and Tanner Haley, pitching in relief of Helms, blanked the Yellow Jackets the rest of the game. Bayless , who earned the win, allowed three hits over 2 2/3 innings, striking out six before yielding to the senior Haley.

Haley, a senior lefty, entered the top of the seventh with runners on second and third and one out and promptly induced a fly out and a pop out to record the save and move the Patriots to 4-0.

The Yellow Jackets jumped ahead early in the first, touching up Helms for three earned runs on three hits, a pair of walks and a wild pitch.

The Patriots rallied for a run in the first, and two more in the third on a two-out, two-run single by senior Aaron Reimer that plated Dylan Wallace and Matt Epley.

The Yellow Jackets outhit the Patriots 10-4, but failed to deliver a hit with runners in scoring position over the final six innings while stranding seven.

Four Yellow Jacket hurlers combined to walk 12 batters.

Pinecrest plays at Asheboro on Monday, before beginning conference play Tuesday and Friday with home games against Hoke County on Tuesday and Lumberton on Friday. Monday's game is at 5 p.m. with the others starting at 7 p.m.