Early in Monday's contest among teams near the forefront of the region between Jones County and Ola, the Greyhounds had a pair of chances to strike early, only to come up empty as they stranded a combined four runners on base.
Ola, on the other hand, did not miss out on its chances to push runs across the plate.
Five two-out runs in the third inning jump-started the Mustangs, who'd go on to win 11-2. That loss combined with last Thursday's 2-1 loss to Union Grove sandwiched wins of 14-0 and 12-2 against Stockbridge, keeping JCHS well within the region's top four teams.
But following a span in which one break here or there may have meant the difference in moving toward the top two slots of the region, the Greyhounds came away desiring more.
Jones County plays Friday at Hampton before hosting the Hornets on Monday.
'You have to find a way. That's what we've been preaching. You have to take yourself out of the equation and do what we need,' Greyhounds head coach Noble Coley said. 'We had some opportunities. Micah Howard came up in some big situations, and I think he hit three that they caught at the wall. There were some opportunities there, but at the same time, we have to do little things better, you have to find a way.'
The Greyhounds had an easy go of it against Stockbridge, getting a 14-0 Wednesday road win after leading 9-0 through three innings with offensive leaders being Cason Taylor, MJ Lane, Jaden Thompson, and Gavin Simon, each with two hits.
Friday's results were similar, as Howard's four RBIs and two by Davis Upshaw led the way.
The wins against the Tigers put Jones County in position to gain a foothold among region leaders, but missed chances upended that opportunity in the 2-1 loss to Union Grove on Thursday as well as Monday's loss to Ola.
Union Grove scratched a single run across in the third inning on Thursday that ended up being just enough despite three hits from Lane and Trent Paulk holding the Wolverines to five hits through six innings.
Following Monday's loss in which Cooper Rice went five and two thirds of an inning, giving up three earned runs before yielding to Landen Wilson and Cayden Tidwell, JCHS is 11-6 overall and 7-4 in the region. The Greyhounds' three remaining region opponents are ranked no higher than seventh in the ten-team region, where Jones County currently sits fourth.
'They have shown they can bounce back, and I expect nothing more than that,' Coley said. 'We'll go out there and get after it.'
