GREYHOUND SOFTBALL
With the softball season making its way into the second half, the Lady Hounds got on track last week, winning three of four contests, splitting a pair of region games in the process.
As a result, JCHS entered this week with an improved record of 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the region, leading a three-way battle for fourth in the region that’ll heat up in the coming weeks between itself, Dutchtown and Warner Robins.
JCHS, which routed Mary Persons 18-3 on Monday, hosts region-leading Ola this Thursday, plays at home against Pike County Monday before playing at the Pirates next Wednesday.
“It’s going to fall where it’s going to fall. It’s getting to where you’ll have to start taking care of business and start looking at where you’ll be,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Tripp Burt said.
Last week’s run began Tuesday at Mary Persons, where Jones County rallied from being down 2-1 to go in front 3-2 in the fourth when Kimber Kent’s leadoff single and stolen base turned into a 3-2 lead on a single by Shayla Pennington.
Following four innings from Ciara Stephens in the pitcher’s circle, who also had an RBI, Cate Downey came along in relief, giving up a hit over three innings for her first career save.
The close-game magic was not as friendly on Wednesday against Union Grove, where the pitching of Ansley Pegg put the Lady Hounds in position to win. She gave up just four hits through seven innings, but two of those were homers, adding up to a trio of runs for Union Grove.
The Lady Greyhounds had ample chances, putting runners in scoring position in four out of seven innings, including a runner at third in the second and third innings but were unable to push a run across. Jones County got on the board in the seventh as Allie Willis reached on an error and Stella Lacy and Tranasia Parker singled to load the bases. A single by Kent and Pennington drawing a walk allowed Willis and Lacy to score, cutting the Union Grove lead to 3-2 with no outs, but JCHS could not get anything else across, falling a run shy of the win.
“We left baserunners all over the place. We hit the ball hard, but right at them. Some games, the breaks just don’t go your way,” Burt said. “(Against Mary Persons), we had an emotional win. We came out kind of flat, and when we finally got going, it was too late.”
As deflated as the loss to Union Grove was, Jones County got back on track Thursday, exacting revenge against Locust Grove from a loss earlier in the season. This time, the Lady Hounds took a 7-5 road win with Downey coming in as a reliever in the second inning, pitching three and a third of an inning, giving up two runs on three hits in place of Stephens. Downey, who got her first career win, gave way to Pegg, whose work through the final two innings earned her the save.
Unlike the night before, Jones County was able to manufacture more runs with eight batters having at least one hit, coming back from an early 2-0 deficit to tie it 2-2 with single runs in the second and third innings. After each team pushed a run across in the fourth, a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth by JCHS ended up being the difference in a strong finish for a key region win.
Pennington and Aniya Canty each had two hits for Jones County, one of them being a homer with Allie Miller having a double and Jackson and Parker registering triples.
In fact, Canty’s big hit, a two-run homer in the sixth, ended up being the difference, as it at the time gave JCHS a 7-3 lead, enough cushion to take home the win.
