Whether it was against region or other opponents last week, the result was still the same on the softball diamond for the Lady Greyhounds — they remain undefeated so far to begin the season.
Following an 14-1 win last Tuesday at home against Locust Grove in the Lady Greyhounds’ first game against a team expected to contend for a postseason spot, JCHS kept its foot on the gas, routing Eagles Landing 18-0 on Thursday before a trio of tournament wins during the weekend against Berrien, Crawford County and Dodge County by scores of 7-3, 17-2, and 5-1.
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Jones County began this week with an overall record of 8-0 and 5-0 in the region, tying them for first place with Ola. The Lady Hounds played Union Grove on Tuesday, whose lone region loss so far is to Ola.
The Lady Hounds have been able to use an aggressive approach at the plate so far with a region-leading 88 runs scored.
That was the case multiple times last week, starting with the win against Locust Grove as JCHS rallied from an early 1-0 hole to lead 8-1 through two innings before putting things away by the mercy rule with a run in the third and five more in the fourth.
“Once we got past those first-inning jitters, we got things kicked into gear,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Tripp Burt said. “We got things going the way we needed to.”
Starting pitcher Ensley Barnes helped her own cause in the second for the Lady Hounds’ first runs of the game on a two-run double, and that was followed by Marrisa Moore and Genna Maki driving in runners before Kadi Sargent’s two-run single added to the advantage. Myah Briscoe helped keep the pressure on in the third when her groundout drove in Sydney Hawkins, before a fourth inning was highlighted by Rylee Johnson’s double followed by a fielding error, enabling her to score from home on the play.
Moore led the way at the plate with four RBIs with JCHS also getting two RBIs a piece by Briscoe, Barnes, and Sargent.
JCHS made quick work of Eagles Landing, pushing 13 runs across in the first two innings with Kaleigh Scarborough hurling a no-hitter.
“Once you get some runs and get a big inning, that’s what you’re looking for,” Burt said.
Zandrea Thomas drove in three runs with two RBIs each from Scarborough, Kadi Sargent, and Haylee Sargent.
Two of the Lady Greyhounds wins in Cordele came in closer quarters without the luxury of the mercy rule. Friday’s win against Berrien saw JCHS score twice in the second inning and three times in the third to go up 5-2, going on to win 7-3. Cate Downey pitched the bulk of the contest, giving up two hits over four innings. At the plate, Briscoe and Moore had two hits with Maki and Barnes each driving in two runs.
Widespread offensive output keyed Saturday’s 17-2 win against Crawford County with two hits each by Briscoe, Ella Jenkins, Hawkins, and Rylee Johnson. Harris led in the RBIs department with three while two each came from Haylee Sargent, Briscoe, Moore, and Thomas.
Downey went the distance in the finale over Dodge County as the Lady Hounds rallied to lead 2-1 in the third prior to single runs in the next three innings for some insurance.
Thomas led JCHS at the plate with two hits as RBIs came via Moore, Maki, and Jenkins.
