Houston County blanks Warner Robins 15-0 in season opener

WARNER ROBINS — Houston County (1-0) head coach Matt Hopkins will take a 15-0 win on opening night, or any night of the season for that matter.

Freshly shaven representing a new campaign for the Bears, Hopkins headed to the dugout after a win against Warner Robins (0-1) with some good things to say on Monday night.

“Better than ‘Game 1,’ the scrimmage. I thought that the scrimmage we were a little bit tight,” Hopkins said after the official Game 1 of the 2026 season. “I thought that Tyson [Ganas] did a really good job of setting the tone early, filling up the strike zone and getting us back in the dugout and ready to hit.”

“After the first inning I thought our bats got a little better and we continued to put pressure. I thought for a first game it wasn’t bad,” He continued. “Obviously some learning moments. I think we have seven or eight freshmen on varsity right now and we had two start…We’re very young and we’re excited to see where this group ends up going.”

Tyson Ganas and Ja’hkai Wilson threw a combined no-hitter with seven strikeouts through the three innings the game lasted.

The top of last year’s lineup was reworked significantly with the departure of key hitters Kendall Jackson, Vick Gann and others.

Raymond Byrd led them off and Isaiah Galason, a national prospect for the Bears, hit second. Ethan Kenney was third in the order and Peach County transfer Nick Hardee had cleanup duty. Noah Odom moved up four spots to bat fifth after batting ninth for much of last season.

With eight walks in 17 at-bats there wasn’t much opportunity to show off their swings, but the top five in the order scored nine runs.

HoCo only put one on the scoreboard in the first inning, but scored eight and six in the second and third innings respectively.

Galason had the best outing at the plate, driving in a run and scoring three himself while hitting 2-of-3.

Hopkins noted a couple other offseason risers after the game, players he’ll likely have to lean on heavily with such a young squad.

“Peyton Nauss has come on huge over the last two years…we’ve really tried to develop him into the player he is, and he’s stepped up and is starting to hit the ball and play good defense. We love what he’s doing,” Hopkins said.

Nauss moved to second base when Galason moved over to shortstop. He was a perfect 2-for-2 batting and drove in three runs, scoring one himself.

Noah Odom is another player that’s caught Hopkins’ eye.

“Noah Odom is being asked to be a more frontline guy,” Hopkins said. “He’s going from left [field] to center [field] and now he’s expected to be a middle of the [batting] lineup guy. It’s incredible how much better he’s gotten. Same thing with Ethan Kenney and [Raymond] Byrd.”

Odom was 0-for-3 in his trio of at-bats, but he scored three runs and drew two walks. Moving between the bags has been a big part of the Bears’ game in recent years, and that doesn’t look to change in this one.

UP NEXT

HoCo will get back on the diamond on Feb. 13 for a doubleheader against North Oconee, starting at 4:30 p.m.

Warner Robins will keep their travels going for one more game, heading to Veterans on Feb. 11 for a game at 6 p.m.