When the past four state tournaments began, the Greyhounds faced a steep climb as their region’s four seed, being saddled with a first-round road series at another region’s first-place team.
Each time out, partly due to that draw, Jones County lost each best-of-three series 2-0.
This year? The odds are more in favor of the Greyhounds.
While there is a bit of a disappointment that JCHS won’t host a first-round series in the state tournament, the Diamond Hounds do find themselves in a better position as a third seed, their best postseason draw since 2019.
Jones County began the postseason on Wednesday at Flowery Branch with the if-necessary game on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Greyhounds will be looking for their first state tournament series win since 2015, when Jones County advanced to the state semifinals.
“The ultimate goal is being in, and when you get in, anything can happen,” Greyhounds head coach Noble Coley said. “You don’t want to be the fourth seed. Being a three, it’s not great, but we have a chance to make some noise.”
The Greyhounds, who entered the postseason with a 21-5 record, have matched their most wins in a single season since 2016 after shutting out ELCA 14-0 last Tuesday led by Cason Taylor’s two hits.
Jones County entered the postseason with seven wins in a row, a similar path of its first-round opponent. The Falcons capped the regular season with four wins in six games, including one against region champion North Oconee.
