LEESBURG – The top-ranked Houston County Bears took the opening game of the region championship series Tuesday evening, defeating Lee County 7-4 at Trojan Field. The final two games of the three-game set will be played Friday in Warner Robins.
“I’m really proud of our effort,” said Lee County Head Coach Wes Shiver. “We made a couple of mistakes and they took advantage of them. They made the big plays when they needed to and kept us from getting the big hit. That’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re the number one team in the state, and we’re working really hard to get to that level.”
Houston County opened the scoring in the top of the second inning when third baseman Logan Elble launched a home run over the left field fence off Trojan starter Grayson Spears. Two walks, an error, and a hit batsman helped the Bears push across another run, giving them an early 2-0 lead.
Lee County answered in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Brent Smith walked, moved to second on a single by Brendan Nash, and advanced to third on a walk to Spears. Durrah Butler then lined a single to right to bring in Smith. The Trojans had a chance to do more damage, but Houston County centerfielder Kendall Jackson chased down a deep fly ball from Josh Barnes to end the inning with the bases loaded.
Jackson made another big play at the plate in the fourth inning, hitting a two-run homer to give the Bears a 5-1 lead. But the Trojans continued to battle. In the bottom half of the frame, Smith and Nash led off with back-to-back singles. With two outs, Barnes ripped a double to the centerfield fence, scoring both runners and cutting the deficit to 5-3. However, for the second time in the game, Lee County left the bases loaded.
“We left 12 guys on base,” Shiver said. “We couldn’t get that big hit when we needed it, and that was the difference. We hit the ball well—we outhit them 10 to 7—but had some mistakes. They played clean baseball defensively.”
Spears took the loss for the Trojans, allowing five hits and five runs over four innings. He walked three and struck out three. Landon Price pitched the final three innings, giving up two hits and two runs.
To claim the region Top-, Lee County will need to sweep Friday’s doubleheader in Warner Robins. A pair of losses would leave the Trojans in second place in the region, still good enough to secure a home series in the opening round of the state playoffs.