After wrapping up the first half of the region schedule solidly in second place, the Lady Greyhounds now turn their attention to staying there and also being in position to tie for first place at the end of the regular season.
Even if Jones County finishes second in the region, it would still host in the first round of the state tournament, making finishing near the top of the region even more important.
The Lady Hounds took care of business in that respect last week, ripping Hampton and Eagles Landing in both games, 19-0, before topping Locust Grove 10-2 in a battle of two teams within the region’s top four. That victory improved the Lady Hounds’ record to 14-2 overall and 11-1 in the region.
“That’s how you want to start off,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Tripp Burt said. “We cleaned up some things that kind of bit us last week a little bit.”
Last week’s 19-0 wins shared a common thread — starting fast. Against Hampton, JCHS followed up a five-run first with 14 more runs in the second, staying aggressive at the plate. The next day against Eagles Landing was similar to the tune of a 15-run first inning and four more in the second.
“These are a couple of games where you can get some work in and see the things you are working on in practice and work on executing that in game situations,” Burt said.
Against Locust Grove, Jones County gradually blew things open, getting on the board with a run in the third, four in the fourth inning, and two more in the fifth to lead 7-1.
The Lady Hounds play next Wednesday at Union Grove in a battle of the second and third-place teams in the region. That will follow a cluster of games this weekend at home Friday against Jackson and on Saturday at GCSU against Mary Persons and West Laurens.
