The Greyhounds are doing all they can to put last week’s losses to Ola, two setbacks that dried up hopes of hosting a firstround state playoff series in the rear-view mirror.
The goal became simple after the middle of last week forJones County - sweep region series against Hampton, McDonough and ELCA, and it’ll cement a postseason spot, and depending on if Union Grove loses twice to Ola, third place in the region.
Step one of three was well taken care of on Monday for Jones County, as a 14-0 home win against Hampton followed a 10-0 road victory on Friday.
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“We went through a little spurt playing some really good teams. We did some good things, and we also did some bad things. We shot ourselves in the toes, and it is what it is. But it’s nice to have this reset and be able to get back on the winning side,” Greyhounds head coach Noble Coley said. “We still have McDonough and ELCA coming up, and it’s like I told them, “if you catch l lighting in the bottle at the right time and as long as you get in,you can make some noise.”
Monday’s win saw Trent Paulk, Cayden Tidwell and Landen Wilson combine to one-hit the Hornets, but the 14-run outburst came through hustle and aggression as JCHS had five stolen bases as a team.
Jones County led 3-0 after an inning thanks to complimentary baseball.
After Paulk got out of the first inning with the infield turning a double play, the Greyhounds started things up on offense right away. After leadoff hitter Gavin Simon reached base, he advanced two bases when a pickoff throw resulted in a two-base error, and he later scored on a sacrifice fly and 1-0 JCHS lead. Nate Vaughn added to the early lead, ripping a two-out single to drive in two runs.
The hustle led to more runs for Jones County an inning later, when Amir Harris turned a bloop single into an extra base. He promptly stole third, going on to score on a single by Simon. Then, it was long-ball time. Cooper Blasted a Hornets pitch over the wall for a two-run home, moving the JCHS lead to 6-0 through two innings.
Vaughn was driven in by Lowe an inning later before a big seven-run fourth inning by Jones County, punctuated by Simon having an inside-thepark homer.
Vaughn led Jones County at the plate with three hits with two by Harris and Rice.
In Friday’s win, the Greyhounds broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the second and two an inning later as Dalton Lowe gave up three hits through four innings.
MJ Lane led the Greyhounds at the plate with three hits.
Jones County continues region play on Friday as it hosts McDonough.
“I saw a different team (Monday),” Coley said. “If you get hot now, anything can happen.”
