Twice during the regular season, Jones County was shut out by subregion foe Houston County, 5-0 in Warner Robins and 2-0 at home.

But the Lady Hounds finally broke through for a 3-2 victory over the Lady Bears in the Region 2-AAAAA final four at Greenbrier last Thursday, earning a second place finish in the region and the right to host an opening round series in the state softball playoffs.

Jones County (16-16-1) was to entertain Glynn Academy (13-8-1) in a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The third game in the best-of-three series, if needed, will also be in Gray on Thursday afternoon.

Glynn Academy finished third in its region, losing to Ware County 10-1 and beating Richmond Hill 4-2 in the 3-AAAAA tournament.

“The girls played really good, and I was very proud of them,” coach Blake Lyons said of their performance in the region tournament. “We grew up a little bit. We couldn’t quite get over the Greenbrier hump, but we played with them and we had a good game to finally come back and beat Houston.

“Finishing second and getting to be at home in the first round of state is a great accomplishment,” he added. “Now all our younger girls get to experience the state playoffs with a chance to advance.”

For the full story, pick up a copy of this week's newspaper or subscribe to our e-Edition at http://ee.jcnews.com.

---