Baseball Roundup: Northside breaks seven-year region drought, Houston County beats Veterans to secure county championship

Baseball season is starting to heat up as region matchups come and go and the standings start to take shape.

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

Houston County

Houston County (12-3, 5-1 Region 2-5A) won their second region series last week, this one against Veterans to secure the county championship.

The Bears won the series 2-1, with the lone loss a comeback effort from the Warhawks in Game 2. HoCo was 5-for-24 (.208) at the plate and struck out nine times, with Veterans’ Bradley Lenz responsible for eight of those in 5.1 innings.

Game 1 on Tuesday was a 7-3 victory and Game 3 a 13-4 revenge effort with doubles from Isaiah Galason and Raymond Byrd and six errors from the Warhawks.

Next up is Thomas County Central on the road on March 17; the doubleheader will be at home on March 20.

Northside

Northside (10-7, 1-5 Region 2-5A) hadn’t won a region game since 2019, until their 4-3 victory against Lee County on Tuesday.

Senior Emerson Rugama poured in a considerable effort on both sides of the plate in the win; He was 2-for-3 in his at-bats and struck out nine players in his seven innings on the mound.

The Eagles went on to lose the rest of the series on the road 9-4 and 15-0, but Tuesday was a big first for head coach Joey Walker and the Northside baseball program.

The Eagles will travel to Coffee on March 17 for Game 1 and host the doubleheader on March 20.

Perry

Perry (6-9, 0-3 Region 1-4A) had a hard time scoring last week against Wayne County, a 2-1 series loss.

The troubles were in Game 1 and Game 3, 5-1 and 18-1 losses respectively, though the Panthers did manage a seventh-inning comeback in Game 2 for a 6-5 victory.

Connor Langdon struck out an astounding 14 batters and allowed three hits, with Zack Herman adding three strikeouts in relief.

Perry will take on Ware County, who is tied for first place after the first region series, starting on the road on March 17 before hosting the doubleheader on March 20.

Veterans

Veterans (6-8, 1-5 Region 2-5A) snapped their five-game losing streak last week, but still lost the series to Houston County 2-1.

Tuesday’s Game 1 saw a comeback attempt fall short as the Warhawks allowed four runs in the fourth and were only able to make up two of those in the top of the seventh in a 7-3 loss.

Game 2’s comeback came through, with Bradley Lenz pouring in eight strikeouts in a 4-3 win in which Veterans scored all four of their runs in the fifth.

Game 3 ended up being a revenge game for the Bears, who won 13-4.

Veterans will look to avoid another losing streak as they travel to Lee County on March 17 before the Trojans come to the ‘Hawks Nest for the doubleheader on March 20.

Warner Robins

Warner Robins’ (6-7, 0-3 Region 1-4A) series against Benedictine can’t be described as anything other than crushing.

The Demons lost all three games by a combined score of 44-2 to the first-place Cadets.

Warner Robins will have a chance to make their stay in last place short lived when they host New Hampstead on March 17 and travel for the doubleheader on March 20.

Westfield

Westfield (6-3) managed a win at the end of the week after losing the second part of a two-game series against First Presbyterian Day, 9-3.

Thursday saw the Hornets hit the road again, this time to Tiftarea Academy in a quick five-inning trip.

Westfield scored nine runs in the fifth inning and only allowed one hit. Cooper Kennedy struck out 10 batters in the effort.

The Hornets’ first district series will be against Calvary Christian starting on March 17. The doubleheader is on March 19.