The most wins for the Lady Greyhounds since five years ago landed them one short step from the state Elite 8 in Columbus as they traveled to Central Carrollton.
But in the postseason, the smallest of foul fortunes can be magnified, and that cruel fate snagged Jones County as it saw the Lions get a big first-inning with two outs to win 14-1 in the first game before the Lady Hounds fought back in the second contest, losing 11-3 in a game that went to eight innings prior to the Lions prevailing.
“Obviously, it didn’t end how we wanted it to,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Tripp Burt said. “But it’s like I told the girls, there is only one team in each classification that ends the season the way that they want it to. I’m proud of all of the work that they put in and the run that they made. We had a good group this year, great kids that did whatever you asked and worked hard. We’re proud of everything that they did.”
Naturally, had JCHS gotten out of the first inning mostly unscathed, there is a scenario in which the opener of the best-of-three series turns out in an alternate fashion. Instead, that opening inning ended with a 10-1 lead for the homestanding Lions, who held the Lady Hounds to a run and a pair of hits.
“We get out of that first inning a little bit differently, and things happen differently, but that’s softball, especially this time of the year,” Burt said. “Central Carrollton is a good team, they finished fifth in the state last year and had a lot of people back, so against teams like that, the little things make a big difference. In the first game, they came out and things escalated quickly.”
All season long, the Lady Greyhounds were a team that showed more than their fair share of fight and grit. It was a group that powered that mentality of fighting to the end in late comebacks against Perry and Veterans. That trait was massively on display in the loss to Central Carrollton as JCHS was anything but a tough out, refusing to go quietly against a team that finished in the state’s top five a season ago.
“That was kind of our message, when things like this happen, usually you have two options, to sit there and feel sorry for yourself or come out swinging,” Burt said. “I’m proud of how they came out swinging. They bounced back and fought hard.”
Kaleigh Scarborough got the game-two start. Her pitching combined with timely hits for JCHS had things knotted at 3-3 after seven innings. The Lady Hounds led 1-0 after an inning and 2-1 through three. Jones County would keep on rallying, getting a run in the bottom of the seventh to force extra frames. Scarborough went six and two-thirds of an inning for Jones County, scattering nine hits and striking out three before the Lions pulled ahead with eight runs in the top of the eighth to win. Marissa Moore’s two hits lead JCHS at the plate in the second game with Raylee Harris and Ensley Barnes driving in runs.
The Lady Hounds will bid farewell to seven seniors whose departures include the top and heart of the order from this season in Moore, Barnes, and Myah Briscoe as well as two thirds of the starting outfield in Moore and Genna Maki. Two key parts for Jones County behind the plate and infield in Sydney Hawkins and Emily Thompson at catcher graduate as well.
“This was a great group of kids, it was fun to go to practice every day and work with them,” Burt said. “Every day they got after it. They were always highly motivated, and that will bode well for them in the future.”
And although two of the team’s top three pitchers graduate in Kaleigh Scarborough and Barnes, Makalyn Williams will return following an outstanding freshman season in addition to proven offensive power from Harris and Rylee Johnson.
