Baseball Roundup: Houston County gains sole possession of Region 2-5A, Westfield falls in first district series

As April approaches every Houston County team has gotten at least one region series under their belt.

Here’s a roundup of last week’s baseball:

Houston County

Houston County (14-4, 7-2 Region 2-5A) gained sole possession of Region 2-5A last week as they edged Thomas County Central 4-3 in Game 3 of the series.

The Bears beat the Yellow Jackets on the road in Game 1 behind 6.1 innings of one-run ball from Tyson Ganas, but TCC quickly returned the favor with a decisive 7-1 victory in Game 2 to open Friday’s doubleheader.

HoCo nearly gave the final game away, with two hit-by-pitches intermediating the second and third outs in the seventh inning, but Isaiah Galason struck the final batter out to help the Bears escape with the series win.

With only two series remaining HoCo turns their sights on Coffee this week. They travel on March 24 and host the doubleheader on March 27.

Northside

Northside (11-9, 2-7 Region 2-5A) reached another milestone last week as they won their second region game in an eventual series loss to Coffee.

This is the first time the Eagles have won multiple region games in a season since 2016 and it was delivered by the defense and an Emerson Rugama home run. Though Taylor Hall’s sacrifice fly was what actually scored the winning run in the sixth.

Northside lost the other two games by a combined 30-1 score.

This week they’ll return to an in-county series, traveling to Veterans on March 24 and hosting the Warhawks for the doubleheader on March 27.

Perry

Perry (6-12, 1-5 Region 1-4A) has taken their lumps in their first two region series against two top-17 teams in 4A, and it doesn’t get much easier with this week’s matchup against fourth-ranked Benedictine.

Last week’s opponent was Ware County whose 4-3 Game 1 victory narrowly secured a sweep after 12-1 and 10-7 finals. Of the 26 runs the Gators scored, only 16 were earned as the defense continues to grapple with defensive errors.

This week Perry will travel to Benedictine on March 24 and host the Cadets in a doubleheader on March 27.

Veterans

Veterans (8-9, 3-6 Region 2-5A) got their first region series win against Lee County last week to lift them out of a last-place tie with Northside.

Bentley Haines pitched seven innings and gave up no earned runs in a 4-3 Game 1 victory in Leesburg and the Warhawks thrashed the Trojans 13-3 to claim Game 2 and the series. Veterans’ offense struck out 13 times in a 13-5 Game 3 loss.

The Warhawks will stay in town for their next region series against Northside, hosting the Eagles on March 24 and traveling up the road for the doubleheader on March 27.

Warner Robins

Warner Robins (8-8, 2-4 Region 1-4A) was one of two Houston County teams to win their first region series last week.

The Demons beat New Hampstead 10-0 and 15-3 in the first two games before losing 9-8 in Game 3 after allowing seven runs in the second inning.

Warner Robins firmly controlled Game 2’s 12-run victory, but seven runs in the seventh put the game far beyond reach. Blaze Griffin pitched a five-inning no-hitter in Game 1.

This week the Demons return to facing the top competition in 4A, taking on 17th-ranked Ware County at home on March 24 and on the road on March 27.

Westfield

Westfield (7-5, 1-2 GIAA District 5-4A/3A) was the last Houston County team that hadn’t played a region series until last week’s against Calvary Christian.

Eight errors doomed the opener at home 14-3 as the Hornets allowed 10 runs in the third and couldn’t recover. Game 2’s 12-0 loss was the first time Westfield has been held scoreless this season, striking out in eight of their 14 at-bats.

But three doubles and batting a much better 14-for-32 in Game 3 sent the Hornets out with a 12-9 win, despite the Knights scoring six runs in the final two innings in a comeback attempt.

Next up is St. Anne-Pacelli, who will host Westfield on March 24 before they come to Perry for the doubleheader on March 26.