GREYHOUND BASEBALL
It was hardly a week at the beach for the Greyhounds during spring break last week. With a break in the region schedule, the Greyhounds stayed sharp, going head-on against prime competition.
The stretch had a method to the madness. This week began the final two weeks of the regular season with a pair of three-game series, first against region-leader Locust Grove and next week against Warner Robins, next to last in the region standings.
The Greyhounds results in those next six games will determine more than likely whether or not Jones County gets to the state tournament. That path, including being ready for potential postseason play, was top of mind for Jones County last week. Jones County lost to Locust Grove on Monday with Dutchtown falling to Union Grove.
“We’ve done all we can do. I feel like the teams that we scheduled, they put us in situations where we will see quality pitching to get us ready for Locust Grove,” Greyhounds head coach Mike Paulk said.
The run began on Tuesday, a 9-0 loss to Eastside at home. Even in a loss, coming after spotting the visitors a 3-0 early lead, the Greyhounds found a lot of takeaways to build off of. Not only did JCHS make use of a good part of its bench, but despite falling behind, the loss was not marked by numerous errors, with the Hounds even getting out of a lategame jam with a double play. Deterrence Holloway made a diving catch to rob the Eagles of an extrabase hit, making the play within feet of the outside wall.
There was not any quit at the plate either, loading the bases in the sixth inning with Tucker Maddox leading the way at the plate with a triple earlier in the game, as well.
“Eastside is a team that hits it extremely well. They showed that, but I think we showed some fight. In an opportunity like this, we got some younger guys some experience against a pitcher throwing at a high rate. Being able to see that in a live game is invaluable, regardless of the score,” Paulk said. “We didn’t give up and stayed in it and fought. I can put up with a lot, but I can’t put up with quit, and they did not quit. That’s all I can ask for on spring break.”
The contest against Eastside was followed by a trio of road games in South Georgia. On Wednesday, JCHS dropped a pair of games to last year’s AA runner-up Thomasville, a 7-6 walkoff loss and another by a score
