A short recap of Houston County’s last softball season as the next inches closer

The school year, along with fall sports, is slowly inching closer — which means the softball diamonds in Houston County are about to be bustling again.

That means new region champions, playoff hopes, aspirations and county rivalries renewed.

But before we look forward to what’s coming, I want to give a short recap of every team’s 2024 season:

Houston County

The Lady Bears became miracle workers late in the season as they secured their third straight region championship — one that was all but Veterans’ after HoCo lost the season series in a tense battle in Kathleen.

But in a rescheduled doubleheader late in the season the Lady Bears stole the Region 2-5A championship like thieves in the night.

A 4-0 shutout gave them hope, and they demolished the Lady Yellow Jackets 16-5 to wear the crown yet again. They also made it to Columbus for the first time in two years, though their fate was the same as in 2022.

Northside

Northside’s season ended on a 10-game losing streak, and they had two of those in 2024.

They did pull off wins against Howard, Warner Robins (twice) and Rutland, but they also finished without a region win for the third straight year.

This year they’ll have the benefit of the full facilities Dyson Field has to offer and hope to break the streak.

Perry

The Lady Panthers just barely missed out on a region championship in year one under Ally Clegg; It took region tiebreaker technicalities to crown Wayne County after they split the series with Perry.

They did make a second round appearance after they skated through a four-team region where Ware County and Warner Robins combined for a 6-35-1 record. The Lady Panthers won those four games by a combined score of 62-8.

Perry is poised to make another run at a region championship, which would be their first since 2019.

Veterans

Veterans had their first region championship since 2021 all but secured after beating Houston County in the season series, but they suffered a pair of surprising losses to fifth place Lee County to slip out of first place.

HoCo’s series win in Thomasville secured their fate, though the Lady Warhawks did make a second round appearance. With the Lady Bears losing even more from their core that went undefeated in the region two years in a row, Veterans has potential to be the favorite to win the region.

Warner Robins

The Demonettes made their first playoff appearance since 2015 because of the four-team Region 1-4A, but they also went winless in the region for the first time since 2021.

They lost their first rounds series to St. Pius X Catholic by a combined score of 34-2.

Westfield

Westfield won the GIAA state championship six times in a row heading into 2024, and that season turned out to be no different.

The Lady Hornets beat Piedmont Academy in the championship series in a lengthy 26-18 shootout. Through the series the teams scored a combined 80 runs.