LIZELLA - With one squeeze of the glove late last Tuesday, Jones County’s Rookie Softball All Stars captured a district title.
As a pop-fly over the infield in the seventh inning of an extra-inning game was caught, a celebration of players and coaches began with the celebration of a district title among players, coaches, family and friends with a 21-20 win against Western Little League.
Both teams advance to this weekend’s state tournament at the Little League Southeast Region facility in Warner Robins. The double-elimination tournament begins Friday with Jones County slated to play the second seed from the Northeast District.
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How Jones County attained that position going into this weekend is a whole other tale in itself as the local group of young softball players battled back and bore down in a game that lasted nearly four hours.
“The girls worked hard, man. They put in all the effort; they get all the credit,” head coach Joey Hitchcock said. “It’s really a testament to them for how hard they played and how bad they wanted it. I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids.”
Trailing 9-5 after two innings, Jones County rallied back, going on to lead 10-9 on the strength of a Josie Howell triple. The seesaw of drama was only just beginning on both sides. Clinging to a 10-9 lead, Jones County maintained its edge following three strikeouts in a row by Emma Sanders. But this win was a team effort, and that was underscored an inning later when another pitcher, Lorelai Heath, made her way to the pitcher’s circle. A tagout at home by Heath kept the score tied at 11-11 to end the frame, and that score stayed the same an inning later when Heath fanned three in a row with the bases loaded to keep things knotted at 11. Jones County surged ahead in the sixth, getting the maximum of five permitted runs in an inning to lead 16-11 prior to Western doing the same to send things to extra innings tied at 16.
Jones County pieced together another five-run inning in the seventh, taking the field needing to get three outs and prevent five runs being scored to extend the game even more.
Heath, who along with Sanders and Emma Still split time pitching on Tuesday, gave way to Sanders as she resumed pitching duties after the innings first two batters.
A two-run single made it 21-18 before Western got within a run. The rally stopped there, as a pop out ended the backand-forth thriller.
Other results:
In baseball coach pitch, Jones County Purple and Jones County Gold faced one another in the loser’s bracket, with Purple winning 17-7 prior to being eliminated in a 15-9 loss to Dudley. In Coach Pitch Softball, Jones County beat Western 13-2 before losing 14-11 to Warner Robins American and 24-18 to Dudley. (Results via Georgia District 5 Little League).
Correction
A photo in last week’s edition misidentified Bethany Martin as Channing Cockrell.
Results Needed
Have results from all-star teams that you’d like to submit? Please send them to sports@jcnews.com by 9 a.m. on Monday of each week.
