Perry softball loses region championship to finish region races as postseason looms

The Region 1-4A championship was decided on Monday as Wayne County beat Perry 16-3, and that officially wrapped up this season’s region races in Houston County.

The first game between the two teams was a much closer 12-6 final, but the Lady Yellow Jackets pounced on the Lady Panthers from the start as they put up crooked numbers in all four innings.

The apex of the offensive onslaught was the fourth inning where Wayne County pumped out seven runs.

With a win on Monday Perry could’ve been tied for first and let tiebreakers declare a winner much like last year, but the Lady Yellow Jackets won it outright this time to decide one of three championship races in Houston County.

GIAA District 5-4A/3A has also been decided, but Westfield wasn’t in the race with a 3-4 district record.

Calvary Christian and Strong Rock Christian are tied for the lead with a 6-1 district record. Unless one of those two loses to Brookstone, tiebreakers will pick a winner.

The Lady Hornets are first in the GIAA Class 3A MaxPreps rankings, which are used to seed the playoff bracket. The GIAA 3A bracket has eight teams in a double elimination tournament starting on Oct. 16. Last year Westfield beat Piedmont Academy, who made their way out of the loser’s bracket into the championship game.

One race that’s been decided was the Region 2-5A championship, which went to Houston County for the fourth year in a row.

Veterans was hoping to break that streak after it slipped from their grasp in 2024, but a series loss to the Lady Bears and two other region losses ended their hopes for that.

There are a couple of games left to finish out the regular season for some teams, but the postseason starts soon and Houston County will have five teams represented: Houston County, Perry, Veterans, Warner Robins and Westfield.

HoCo will be the only team to host two playoff series assuming they make it that far. Perry and Veterans will host at least one, while Warner Robins will travel from the start.

Westfield’s entire playoff tournament will take place at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus from Oct. 16 to Oct. 18.