Houston County’s season comes to end in GHSA playoffs
Houston County threw three different arms at a red-hot Pope lineup for two games but could never an answer as the Greyhounds swept their GHSA Class 6A series over the Bears 15-6 and 8-7 on Wednesday.
Pope pounded out 31 hits in the two games, including 13 for extra bases.
With its season on the line, Houston County jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in Game 2, only to see the Greyhounds erase the deficit with a four-run outburst in the third inning on four consecutive extra base hits.
The Bears responded with a pair of runs in the fourth and a big insurance run in the fifth, but it wasn’t to be as Pope retook the lead in the sixth on a two-out, two-run single from Hannah Rogers who had three hits in the game.
Three who mattered
Rogers: The Pope center fielder set a program record for hits in a season by reaching 56 during the series. She finished the two games 6-for-9 with five runs scored.
Zoe Laneaux: Pope’s standout freshman second baseman tormented Houston County with six hits, four of them doubles. Her shot to the right-center field gap in the sixth inning of game one cleared the bases and put the game away, giving her seven RBI in the contest.
Autumn Ring: Houston County’s senior shortstop did all she could to keep the Bears alive, reaching base safely in 6-of-8 plate appearances. She had a double and a home run in Game 1.
Worth mentioning
Missing a star player: Senior leader and arguably Houston County’s best player, Caitlyn Davis, missed Game 2 entirely after suffering a knee injury attempting to tag a Pope runner out at the plate in Game 1. Her absence shook up the Bears’ lineup, taking a huge bat out of the order and forcing speedy center fielder Madi Slappey to move behind the plate defensively.
Electing to be the visitor: Houston County head coach Angela Crawford won the toss to determine home-field advantage in a potential Game 3 situation and chose to be the visitor.
They said it
Crawford on Pope’s offensive explosion: “They’re definitely a good hitting team. I think that we gave them too many chances to hit the ball. We didn’t get outs when we needed to get outs and we gave them extra opportunities. I’m not taking anything away from them, because they did hit the ball well (Wednesday), but I just felt that we gave them too many opportunities especially in the first game and late in that second game.”
Crawford on the decisive sixth inning of Game 2: “We didn’t make a play when we needed a play to be made. We needed to knock the ball down and keep it in the infield no matter what so that they only scored one.”
Crawford on the impact of Davis’ absence: “I don’t want to take Caitlyn Davis out of the game. She’s our best leader, best hitter and most consistent (player). I didn’t want to take her out, but she just couldn’t (play).”
This story was originally published October 20, 2016 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Houston County’s season comes to end in GHSA playoffs."