GREYHOUND SOFTBALL
Earlier this season, fellow region frontrunners Locust Grove and Ola handed the Lady Hounds a pair of losses, the latter of which was by eight runs.
But the past week has shown that Jones County is doing what it expects to do during this key point of the season. That is to play its best softball and hit its stride during the late part of the season and into the playoffs.
JCHS – which the week before last went on the road to avenge a loss earlier in the season to Locust Grove – kept things rolling last week to win three of four. The only loss was a close 4-3 loss to Ola, which dealt them an 11-3 loss earlier this season. Ola is unbeaten in region play while the Greyhounds are two games out of third place and also two games ahead of fifth in the region standings.
The Lady Hounds upcoming schedule – a mix of non-region contests that began this past Monday against Pike County – also includes a trio of region matchups, the next being Sept. 26 at Warner Robins, Oct. 4 at home against Warner Robins and Oct. 6 at Union Grove, a game that, depending on Union Grove’s record between now and then, could have region tournament seedings on the line.
The region tourney is set for Oct. 11-12 at the home field of the highest seed in the region.
“It was a good week, to go 3-1; that’s always a positive,” Lady Greyhounds head coach Tripp Burt said. “We feel like we’re rounding into shape and playing better softball. Our girls are starting to mesh together a little bit and playing more for each other than with each other.”
There were multiple common threads in last week’s three wins for the Lady Hounds, all of which were by way of the mercy rule. In each one, JCHS raced out to a first-inning lead and also blew each contest open through extra-base hits. Having 16 total in the three wins – 18-3 against Mary Persons, 22-0 over Eagles Landing and 16-0 against Dutchtown.
Pitching was also a strong point with two of the three wins being shutouts. What’s more is that each of three wins came with three different pitchers, a showcase of the pitching depth that continues to gain steam for JCHS as the season goes on. Against Mary Persons last Monday, it was Ciara Stephens getting the win, giving up three runs on three hits in the three innings of play. A day later at Eagles Landing, Ansley Pegg hurled three shutout innings, yielding three hits while a day later, freshman Cate Downey took her turn, giving up a hit in three shutout innings against Dutchtown.
“It’s great to have someone who can go in there and throw strikes. All three of them do things significantly different. It helps you keep teams off-balance,” Burt said. “You’ve also got a freshman that’s not scared to come in and get after it. It’s been to have three who can go in and pitch for us.”
All three pitchers got what any pitcher could ask for, an early lead and plenty of offense at the plate.
Against Mary Persons, the Greyhounds pushed seven runs across in the first and cruised from there, led by a Tranasia Parker homer and two hits and a pair of doubles from Aniya Canty, who on Friday was crowned 2022 JCHS Homecoming Queen. Stella Lacy also had a pair of hits with Stephens driving in three runs, Canty having two and Lacy having four RBIs. Kimber Kent, Stephens and Lacy each had a double.
Against Eagles Landing, eight runs in the first and seven in the second put things fully in Jones County’s hands, led by Bailey Jackson’s five RBIs and three from Parker. That was followed with triples from Shayla Pennington, Jackson, Kent and Parker with Jackson and Lacy also having a double.
Against Dutchtown, a 9-0 lead after an inning turned into a 16-0 lead an inning later, led by three hits from Taylor Nipper and two from Pennington and Kent as Lacy, Stephens, Canty, Parker and Pegg each doubled.
