Houston County baseball team knocks off Greenbrier

In a contest pitting the past two GHSA Class AAAAA champions against one another in a winner take all Region 2-AAAAA finale, Houston County outlasted Greenbrier 2-0 to claim its first region title in program history Thursday.

Both teams showcased a high level of play, battling scoreless into the fifth inning when Houston County’s Blake Dawson roped a line drive to center field that got down just under the diving attempt of Justen Hartfield. The ball kicked away allowing Dawson to take second and setting the stage for D.L. Hall.

The starting pitcher for the Bears picked on a changeup from Greenbrier’s Connor Hogan and pulled it through the right side to score Dawson.

Hall was lifted after his clutch RBI, moving to center field in the sixth where he instantly had another big impact on the game. A two-out single by the Wolfpack’s Garrett Marchmen and a wild pitch had the tying run in scoring position when reliever Tanner Hall’s pickoff attempt at second base sailed into center field. D.L. Hall charged the baseball and gunned down the runner at third for a key out to end the threat.

Tanner Hall gave the Bears some insurance in the bottom half of the inning with a leadoff single. He came around to score on an Austin Hittinger single through the left side and wild throw to the backstop.

Tanner Hall worked a perfect top of the seventh to pick up the save and secure the win for D.L. Hall who worked five scoreless innings.

THREE WHO MATTERED

D.L. Hall: The Florida State commit struck out two in five innings of work and didn’t walk a batter as he scattered four hits. His single in the fifth, one of two on the night, proved to be the difference offensively.

Tanner Hall: The lefty faced the minimum in his two innings of work to secure the save and the victory for Houston County. He also singled and scored in the sixth.

Connor Hogan: Greenbrier’s starting pitcher threw a complete game and struck out three, while walking just one. He held Houston County to seven hits.

THEY SAID IT

D.L. Hall on his game winning RBI: “It was a changeup. He threw me a fastball on the outside of the plate, and I fouled it off. I just got into a battle mode and he gave me a low change up that I was able to poke through the hole.”

Houston County head coach Jason Brett on the importance of the victory: “The say you don’t have to have region championship to win a state championship, but it sure does feel good. Being the No. 1 seed, we’ll be home next weekend. This is just another check on the checklist.”

Brett on the win: “I told our kids during the game that it was going to come down to one run and fortunately we were able to score two. That just shows you the level of defense and the level of pitching that was on that field (Thursday). That’s playoff baseball.”

WHAT’S NEXT

Houston County will open a three-game series against the No. 4 seed from Region 3-AAAAA on Apr. 29 at home, while Greenbrier hosts the No. 3 seed from Region 3-AAAAA.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 8:52 PM with the headline "Houston County baseball team knocks off Greenbrier."