At this stage of the season, the job is simple for the Lady Greyhounds – to stack wins that will help their placement in the power rankings while also collecting victories against strong opponents to help that cause.
The better JCHS finishes the season, the better its odds to host a postseason game in the first round of the GHSA state playoffs, which begin the week of Oct. 14. As of the power rankings posted at the start of this week, Jones County was seeded 13th, and the top 16 seeds in each classification will host in the first round of the state tournament.
“Now it’s just win and improve your standing in the power rankings and take care of what you can take care of,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Tripp Burt said.
Last week helped that task in more ways than one, as Jones County took two of three games overall, including a split with Perry and a 16-0 win against Eagles Landing. That brought the Lady Hounds’ record to 14-6 overall and 7-3 in the region.
One day before falling 11-5 at home to the Panthers, Jones County rallied to win 8-6 on the road, as a last-ditch comeback by Perry ended on a putout at home with catcher Emily Thompson making the tag.
“We had a few struggles early, but we turned it around and were able to scratch some things out,” Burt said.
Jones County found itself behind after two innings, with the Panthers putting together a two-run second frame to lead 4-1.
But the Lady Greyhounds wasted little time in bouncing back. First came the third inning. With Makalyn Williams aboard as well as Marrisa Moore via a single, Raylee Harris ripped a single to score Leighton McGinnis, pinching running for Williams, as well as Moore to trim the Perry lead to 4-3.
But a bigger offensive punch was to come in the fifth. First, a Myah Briscoe double scored Harris, and Ensley Barnes followed with a game-tying single. Then, Rylee Johnson took center stage, drilling a pitch over the left field wall and rounding the bases in celebratory exuberance before being mobbed by her teammates as JCHS led 8-5.
“She had been taking some good swings earlier in the game and had a good approach at the plate,” Burt said. “She hit the ball hard and good things happened.”
Williams finished things out from there in the pitcher’s circle for Jones County, forcing Perry to strand multiple runners over the final two innings.
“It’s one of those where she is either going to finish it or we’ll go to someone else. She was able to finish it for us,” Burt said. “We’re in the second half of the season, and she’s seen it all in the first half. She goes out there and battles.”
