Lady Hounds blow past Warner Robins 16-3

GREYHOUND SOFTBALL

  • Four strong innings from Ciara Stephens paced the Lady Hounds to a win on Monday. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
    Four strong innings from Ciara Stephens paced the Lady Hounds to a win on Monday. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
  • Aniya Canty makes her way home to score a run against the Demonettes. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
    Aniya Canty makes her way home to score a run against the Demonettes. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
  • Tranasia Parker rips a deep fly ball over the fence to blow Monday’s game against Warner Robins open. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
    Tranasia Parker rips a deep fly ball over the fence to blow Monday’s game against Warner Robins open. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
  • Cate Downey came along in relief to help close Monday’s win out against Warner Robins. BRAD HARRISON/Staff
    Cate Downey came along in relief to help close Monday’s win out against Warner Robins. BRAD HARRISON/Staff

    WARNER ROBINS - The Lady Hounds started a bit slow on Monday night against Warner Robins. In the end, however, it didn’t matter.

    Thanks to the combined pitching performance of Ciara Stephens and Cate Downey retiring all but two batters in the final three innings, Jones County rolled to a 16-3 win on Monday night, scoring a multitude of runs over the final three innings to take the win.

    With the victory, Jones County improved to 10-8 overall and 5-4 in the region. As a result, it has nearly clinched a spot in the region tournament. The Lady Hounds came into Monday leading both Warner Robins and Dutchtown by two games, and both would need to win their remaining region games to either tie or overtake Jones County. JCHS played Dutchtown on Tuesday of this week and next week hosts Warner Robins on Tuesday and goes to Union Grove on Thursday.

    “Realistically, we could finish second through fourth depending on what happens,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Tripp Burt said. “The big thing for us to get momentum going into the region tournament because we know that we can beat any team that is there.”

    Jones County did a good job of picking itself up early. After coming away empty in the second inning and unable to build on an early 1-0 lead, a double play ended a Demonettes scoring threat in the bottom of the frame.

    Then, in the third, a bases-loaded double by Taylor Nipper made it 3-0, and a Bailey Jackson single and Stella Lacy groundout extended the lead to 5-0.

    After Warner Robins pushed three runs across in the fourth, the Lady Hounds hit back, getting a run as Jackson scored on a wild pitch with the big hit being a homer to left by Tranasia Parker, blowing the game open 9-3 in the fifth to enable Joens County to pull away and empty its bench in the final innings.

    “We started slow and came out kind of flat, which has kind of been our downfall lately,” Burt said. “Once we got momentum, good things happened.”

    Monday’s win gave the Lady Hounds 3-2 record over its previous five games that began with 12-1 and 6-2 wins over Pike County and 10-2 and 4-2 setbacks over the weekend to West Laurens and Harlem.

    In the 6-2 win against Pike County, Ansley Pegg and Downey combined to give up five hits with Downey holding things scoreless over the final two frames. Taylor Nipper had two hits and was one of four with a run driven in, joining Shayla Pennington, Aniya Canty, and Parker.

    Stephens went the full five innings in Monday’s 12-1 win against Pike County with Shayla Pennington coming up a homer short of the cycle as she also drove in four runs. Nipper, Parker, Allie Willis and Kimber Kent each had a pair of RBIs in the win.