The Jones County High fastpitch softball team improved its record to 10-5 overall (1-1 in sub-region 1B-AAAA), this past weekend, winning three non-region contests and losing two as part of the Shaw Invitational in Columbus.

The Lady ’Hounds dropped their first two games, Friday night, losing to a pair of AAAAA schools in Etowah, 4-2, and Lowndes, 6-0.

Jones led Etowah, 2-0, in the sixth and final inning of its first game, before the Lady Eagles scored four runs off of two doubles, three errors, and a sacrifice.

Caitlyn Asbell, who was credited with five innings and pitched to two batters in the sixth without recording an out, gave up two runs on eight hits and one walk and struck out three.

Kristen Loth (3-1) came on in relief and gave up two runs on one hit and one walk and was charged with the loss.

Offensively, the Lady Greyhounds scored one run off of two errors and a Mikayla Sparks single in the first inning and one run off of a single by Mallory Davis and a Sparks double in the third.

The ’Hounds managed just three hits and six base runners in the game, striking out eight times and failing to draw a walk.

Jones’ offensive woes continued in its second game, as Morgan Jackson’s fifth-inning walk produced the team’s only base runner and it failed to get a hit against Lowndes.

The Lady ’Hounds trailed just 1-0 in the fifth and final inning, before the Vikettes scored five unearned runs.

“We had an error here and an error there and things just didn’t go our way,” coach Blake Lyons said. “Plus, we were running up against a time situation, so we had to throw balls across the plate.”

Taylor Williams (2-2) gave up just three hits, one walk, and one run, while striking out three in three innings of work, before Kristin Carr came on and gave up three hits, one walk, and five unearned runs, while striking out one.

After the disappointing first day, however, the Lady ’Hounds came out and dominated pool play, Saturday.

Jones began with a 14-0 pounding of Jordan, in which the Greyhounds scored five runs in the first inning, seven in the second, and two in the fourth off of six hits, nine walks, and five errors.

Carr was 2-for-2 with a triple and three runs scored, and Jesse Poss was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs.

Asbell (3-2) picked up the win, going all four innings, allowing one hit and no walks, and striking out three.

In their next game against host Shaw, the ’Hounds’ first batter of the game, Davis, reached on an error and scored after an Asbell groundout, and that was all the offense Loth needed.

The senior pitcher fired seven innings of two-hit ball, striking out five and walking none.

“She went out there and really pitched a good game,” Lyons said.

The Lady ’Hounds bested the host Raiders again in their final game, 6-3, due to another team dropping out of the tournament.

Carr (2-0) pitched all seven innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits and three walks, while striking out 10, including all three batters in the final frame.

Six different batters had one of the team’s total of six hits, and Sparks led the squad with 2 RBIs, as Jones scored one run in the second, two in the fourth, and three in the fifth.

Lyons said he got away from his early-season habit of throwing two pitchers in each game in the tourney.

“We are starting to make some decisions as far as who will be playing where, not just at pitcher, but all over the field,” he said. “You’ll start seeing pitchers go complete games if they’re capable.”

Lyons said the performances of all four of his pitchers have been very similar thus far.

“They are all so close right now, statistically, that we may have to base our decisions on who can help us somewhere else,” Lyons said.

The team will play a pair of region games this week, as it was scheduled to host Hardaway, Tuesday, before welcoming Upson-Lee to Gray, Thursday, 6 p.m.

The Lady ’Hounds will then travel to Westside, next Monday, 5 p.m., before hosting the Lady Seminoles the next day, 5:30 p.m., as 1B-AAAA play continues.