With two games against Stockbridge last week, the path ahead was clear, but the Greyhounds had to take advantage. With two wins, Jones County would enter the final week of the regular season in a position to finish second in the region and host a first-round series in the state playoffs.
That task was easily taken care of. Tuesday’s 15-7 win and Thursday’s 14-3 triumph moved the Greyhounds record to 18-6 and 10-2 in the region. With Locust Grove, which Jones County was scheduled to play Tuesday and Thursday of this week also having a region record, it set the stage for a pair of games with second place on the line.
“Our kids have done a great job putting themselves in the best possiblescenario,” Greyhounds head coach Jason Page said. “It’s like I told them, ‘just sit back, have fun and play baseball.’ We’re almost in a playoff situation where you want to win those games but if you don’t, you’re still in the state playoffs.”
Jones County began the week with two ways to take second in the region, either by sweeping both games or splitting the two and winning the run differential tiebreaker. The first for the two games was Tuesday at Cecil Patterson Field with the finale on Thursday at Locust Grove.
“I’d love for our kids to have an opportunity to play at home, I’d love that for our community,” Page said.
As important as claiming second in the region is for the Greyhounds is, equally important is playing well going into the postseason. Page points to a pair of losses to end last year’s regular season that appeared to weigh down on Jones County as it went into the postseason where it was swept at Wayne County.
“You really want you kids playing at a high level (before the playoffs), which we didn’t do last year,” Page said. “We want to put ourselves in the best position.”
One thing that the Greyhounds hope to carry with them into this week’s crucial games is the way that Jones County attacked the plate against Stockbridge. On Tuesday, the Greyhounds were not rattled by an early 3-0 deficit. Rather, a three-run second inning tied it on a Dawson Harris two-run homer and Marlin Mills RBI. The long ball was very good to JCHS again in the fifth on a Keagan Baxter solo homer that proved to be the go-ahead run and 4-3 advantage.
Jones County kept the pressure on, pushing five runs across in the sixth before putting it away in a big way with a six-run seventh inning. Some small ball began the sixth inning cluster of runs. Tucker Maddox walked, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on an error off the bat of Austin May. Then, a Landon Califf double and singles by Mills and Aiden Payne followed by a Tucker Mix made it 9-3, placing the game firmly in the hands of the Greyhounds.
Milton and Mills had three hits with Payne and Califf having two. Registering three RBIs was Mills with a pair also going to Mix, Milton and Harris. Brody Gordon got the win, giving up three runs on three hits in five innings.
Another early rally came on Thursday at home following a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and 3-2 edge in the second for Stockbridge.
JCHS, which led 2-1 in its half of the first in singles by Chase Milton and Maddox, led 6-3 in the second on singles by Mix and Baxter prior to Mix scoring on a passed ball and Baxter coming in on a sacrifice fly, moving the game to a 6-3 Greyhounds lead.
A five-run third and three-run fifth enabled the Greyhounds to win 14-3 on the mercy rule. The third began with the bases being loaded with one out, and Jones County took full advantage of the opportunity. After a Tucker Mix groundout made it 7-3, a Baxter single brought in a pair of runs, and a Milton groundout extended the lead to 10-3 prior to a Harris double giving the Greyhounds their final run of the inning, ahead 11-3. Doubles by Harris and May were good for three Greyhound runs in the fifth and 14-3 win, capping a day in which Baxter and Milton drove in three runs with Harris, May and Mix each having two.
