Houston County holds on in Game 3 to win region series against Thomas County Central

WARNER ROBINS — Houston County sure tried to make it interesting, but the Bears (14-4, 7-2 Region 2-5A) held on in Game 3 to split Friday’s region doubleheader against Thomas County Central (12-5, 6-3 Region).

HoCo lost Game 2 to the Yellow Jackets 7-1, but they eked out a 4-3 win for the series in the nightcap despite a tense finish.

Entering the seventh inning of Game 3 the Bears held a 4-2 lead and got the first two outs through three at-bats.

Thomas County Central scored the runner on second with a single to center field, and Raymond Byrd’s hit-by-pitch put the (potential) winning run on first base.

Head coach Matt Hopkins pulled Byrd and put Isaiah Galason in for the final out. On a 2-2 count Galason also hit a batter and gave the Yellow Jackets loaded bases. Fortunately, they held on as Galason earned his only strikeout in the ensuing at-bat.

Injuries forced the Bears to get creative with the pitching rotation, which was evident in both games.

Jahki Wilson started Game 2 but was pulled after an inning. Ryan Maxwell managed to stick it out for four innings before Barry Brown came in to finish the last two, but the first two innings put the Yellow Jackets up 6-1.

With Tyson Ganas, Ethan Kenney, Wilson, Maxwell and Brown expended late in Game 3 HoCo had to put positional players on the mound. Byrd has pitched in stints before and can get the job done, but in tight games you’d prefer a more experienced arm.

Kenney performed well in his 5.2 innings. He and the defense held Thomas County Central scoreless through the first four innings and he only had one earned run to go with seven strikeouts. After the preseason it was uncertain where he would fit, but he’s carved out a role.

“Kenney, a lot of people don’t remember his scrimmage, he got hit around like crazy. We were really concerned because we had big plans for him to be our two or our three,” Hopkins said. “Since we started going he’s been filling up the zone [with] multiple pitches and competing, and he’s doing a great job.”

When you play freshmen in any sport you’ll experience peaks and valleys. While Friday was a valley for Wilson, Hopkins has high hopes for the young pitcher.

“[With] Jahki the sky’s the limit. He’s got potential to be one of the best pitchers we’ve ever had come through here, and I mean that,” Hopkins said. “His biggest thing is just continuously competing and doing what he needs to do, and learning to battle through adversity.”

The defense had its own peaks and valleys within the doubleheader. The Bears had six errors through the two games but also played some of their best in the first four innings of Game 3.

As obvious as it is, when HoCo plays well on defense they win more games.

“The story of our season’s been if we handle the baseball we’re winning baseball games,” Hopkins said. “Right now we’ve lost four games, and I think we’ve made like 17 or 18 errors in those four games combined. I thought that they got down on themselves like we normally have done when things start going wrong, but then we rallied around and did a better job in [Game 3]. Once we started hitting you could tell it was contagious.”

The offense has to back up the defense just as the defense backs up the pitcher. While the Bears held Thomas County Central scoreless through the first four innings of Game 3 and (almost) the last five of Game 2, their offense was just as silent.

There were opportunities. In the third inning of Game 3 the Yellow Jackets lost Byrd’s fly ball and hit Galason with a pitch to put both on. The pair worked their way to second and third base but two consecutive strikeouts stranded them.

HoCo left runners stranded in six of seven innings in Game 2.

Hopkins said he’s seen glimpses from some players. Freshman George Bassett was 2-for-3 in Game 3 and freshman Jet Waller moved some runners during his at-bats.

“Trust the process. These guys, they’re amazing kids and they want to do the best they can for the team,” Hopkins said. “A lot of them are trying to do too much instead of just being who they are and just being simple and just following the process of what we want to do.”

UP NEXT

HoCo will travel to Coffee for Game 1 of the series on March 24.

Thomas County Central will remain on the road when they head to Lee County on March 24.