Houston Co. Bears make history with Game 3 triumph

By CHRISTOPHER DUNN

Fayette County News

No region championships? No problem.

The Houston County High bats, as has been the case for most of these 2014 baseball playoffs, came alive when they were needed most, spurring a late rally for an 8-6 Game 3 win and a state championship Tuesday against Whitewater High in Fayetteville.

This is the third GHSA title for Houston County High, the first one dating back to 1995 in slow-pitch softball. Competition cheerleading brought the school’s second championship in the 2012-13 school year.

Whitewater started the day red hot. Jake Wilkinson led off the game with a walk, then got company on base after a Brandon Bell single. Nick Fuerstenau made it count, blasting a three-run home run to left field for a quick 3-0 lead.

But that wasn’t going to faze Jason Brett’s Bears too much, for on Monday the visiting team from Region 2-AAAAA rallied from six runs down in Game 2 to win 8-7 in extra innings and even the series 1-1.

Houston County got on the board in the bottom of the second inning with a bit of small ball. Hunt Smith got the ball rolling with a lead off walk, stole second base, then moved to third on a Hunter Phillips single. Smith came home on a single by Andy Moore to slice the lead to 3-1.

The Wildcats padded their lead in the third with an RBI single by Caleb Norton. The Cats aimed for a little extra, but the Bears tagged out a second runner at the plate on the play.

Whitewater got a strong start from Jordan Holmes, though the Cats staff would scuffle with an at times razor thin strike zone. Phillips got the start for Houston before giving way to Justin Jones, who would pitch the final four innings and earn the win. That became a familiar role for Jones, a Georgia State signee who played most of the season in the infield. But once the playoffs started, Brett put Jones on the mound, and not only did he close out the finals but also the semifinal clincher when the Bears toppled a powerful Gainesville High lineup on the road.

Houston’s bats thundered to life in the bottom of the fourth, grabbing a lead they would not relinquish. A Jake Fromm walk bookended by two outs had the Bears looking like they were in another lost frame. Instead, it was a backbreaker for Whitewater.

Mark Lumsden crushed a double to deep left-center to score Fromm and cut the deficit to two runs, but they weren’t nearly done. Jones singled home Lumsden, then Josh Profit singled and Blake Jackson drew an intentional walk to load the bases for Hunt Smith. Smith made Whitewater pay in a big way, planting a grand slam over the wall in right field for a 7-4 Bear lead.

Whitewater hung in, chipping away in the top of the fifth. It was Norton again, this time driving in two on a triple to make it a 7-6 game.

Houston tacked on one more run on a Profit solo shot in the bottom of the sixth.

Just three outs from the title, the Bears looked to be off to a rough start when Fuerstenau got on base thanks to an error to lead off the frame. The Bears quickly rebounded with a 4-6-3 double play to get the Wildcats down to their last out. After a walk, Houston got the final out on an infield putout, setting off a massive celebration on one side, while the homestanding Wildcats were left to wonder how it got away.

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