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Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2009

Bears and Eagles ready for softball showdown

The top two softball teams in GHSA Region 1-AAAAA meet at 6 p.m. Thursday when fourth-ranked and three-time defending region champion Houston County invades the Eagles Nest for a game against No. 6 Northside.

Both teams (along with Warner Robins) were rained out of tournament action in the Brookwood Invitational last weekend. As a result, the Bears (13-3, 5-0 Region 1-AAAAA) haven’t played a game since they beat Warner Robins on Sept. 15.

Northside (14-4, 4-0) is scheduled to host Tift County at 6 p.m. today in a makeup game that has been postponed twice. Whether the extra game plays to the Eagles advantage remains to be seen.

“It’s just good to play games instead of having long layoffs,” Northside head coach Mitch Horton said. “It’s like starting the season again at the plate.”

Northside is averaging 4.7 runs per game this year. That’s about double what the Eagles scored in 2008. Five Northside players have hit balls over the fence, including, most recently, Brooke Red, who did it against Jones County on Sept. 19.

Houston County head coach Angela Crawford understands there’s danger in the Northside lineup, but she expects a tight ballgame.

“There’s no doubt that one run could make the difference,” Crawford said. “The team that minimizes mistakes and capitalizes on opportunities will win.”

Houston County senior Brianna Hancock shut out the Eagles in a non-region game Sept. 3. It marked the only shutout loss for the Eagles this year. Even so, Crawford may start Jessica Burroughs because it’s her turn in the rotation. Northside will likely counter with Red and/or Sarah Purvis.

“That’s four good pitchers,” Crawford said.

The prize to the victor will probably be the top seed for the region tournament Oct. 6-8 at Cordele. That’s good incentive, but it’s hardly the end game for either team.

“No position in the region tournament is safe until you win two games,” Crawford said.

“It’s not so important our seed going into the region tournament,” Horton said. “Our goal is coming out as the No. 1 seed.”

FROSH PANTHERS KEY SOFTBALL RUN

Perry head softball coach Lorne Tucker has good reason to be excited about the future of his program. The Lady Panthers already start a sophomore and a pair of freshmen on the varsity squad. In addition, Perry’s JV team had a record of 12-1 through games of the weekend.

But Perry’s present is plenty exciting as well. After sweeping Cairo in a home doubleheader Saturday, the Lady Panthers improved to 14-2 on the season, including 8-1 in GHSA Region 1-AAA. If Perry wins out, including home games against Crisp and Worth County, it will claim its first region championship since 2005.

“We hold our destiny in our own hands,” Tucker said, “as does Crisp County and Worth.”

The three teams at the top of the region standings all have one loss.

Perry’s freshmen had big contributions in the sweep of Cairo. In the first game, which Perry won 3-2, freshman Savannah Ransom ran her record to 5-1 with a five-hit, 10-strikeout performance in the circle.

“Slowly but surely she’s becoming the ace of the staff,” Tucker said. “We have no reservations about throwing her in the big games.”

The Syrupmakers rallied to tie the game with a pair of runs in the sixth. But freshman Ivey Johnson capped a two-out rally in the home half of the seventh with a game-winning single that scored Alexis Ricks.

“(Johnson) just stepped up and delivered for us,” Tucker said. “They both showed a lot of composure for freshmen.”

MGJGT RESULTS

Seven-year-old Eujina Pyon shot a nine-hole total of 39 en route to victory in the Middle Georgia Junior Golf Tour on Saturday at International City Golf Club. Pyon finished at plus-14 in the Stableford scoring system and won the 6-9 year old division ahead of Mac Stevens and Ty Cranford.

Tara Ann Abrigo won the 10-11 division with plus-9, topping Carol Pyon and Adam Chalmers.

Heidi Park and Megan Reddick both scored even and tied for first in the girls 12-14 group.

Conner Albright (plus-4) topped Drew Bellflower and Austin Taylor in the boys 12-14 division. Michael Meeks (plus-5) finished first in the 15-17 division, ahead of David Tressler, Lee Townsend and Ross Dempsey. Jack Masters shot a 79 to claim low medalist for boys.

BREITBACH TOPS WR INVITE

Megan Breitbach of Houston County won the girls division of the 10th annual Warner Robins Invitational Cross Country meet on Sept. 15 at Huntington Middle School. Breitbach finished ahead of the runner-up by about 90 seconds. Breitbach’s performance lifted the Lady Bears to a fifth-place team finish. Houston’s Emily Brown also finished in the top 25 in the field of 198.

The Warner Robins girls finished second thanks to top 25 finishes from Caroline Mauldin (third), Victoria Baker (16th) and Maggie Dimes (20th). Chelsea Waters of Northside finished 21st to pace the Eagles to a ninth-place finish.

The Perry boys’ cross country team turned in a strong showing. The Panthers put four runners in the top 25 out of a field of 349 participants. Running together, seniors Jesse Yeomans and Billy Colbert finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with nearly identical times. Junior James Peterman finished 23rd, while classmate Dillion Swartz came in 25th. Freshman Codey Dykstra earned the Panthers’ final qualifying time when he crossed the finish line in 46th place.

Warner Robins boys finished sixth behind Jacob Grubb (second) and Ryan Dimes (15th). Houston County placed seventh thanks in part to the efforts of Kasib Abdullah (fourth) and Todd Overlie (18th). Northside’s boys finished 10th. Senior Josh Anderson finished 24th to lead the Eagles.