Houston County surges in fifth inning to hand Lee County first region loss

WARNER ROBINS — Lee County’s first hit in 13 tries was a solo home run over right field to take the lead. It was all Houston County from there after a brief message from their coach.

“They won this [inning], let’s win the next one,” said Lady Bears head coach April Collins, to her dugout at the end of the fourth inning.

Win it, they did, with electric hits from Ann Marie DeFore and Olivia Buffone in the bottom of the fifth inning. They both let out a roar after getting to their respective bases, because those were the first runners they didn’t leave stranded.

That kind of energy is what broke their lull and propelled them to their biggest region win yet, 6-1, and to Collins’ double-digit hits target she set at the beginning of the season. Finding that fire consistently is another goal.

“Our thing was, we have to have energy, and it just can’t be this game [or] this game, it’s got to be all the time,” Collins said. “Tonight I was like, ‘Hey let’s handle business at home.’ … I told them in the circle [after the game], they’re gonna do Thursday [during the doubleheader] what we’ve been doing to other teams, and we can’t let that happen,”

The good news for HoCo is they are ahead of the curve when it comes to player leadership, with Felicity Curtis and Brianna Walker leading the charge in the dugout.

Throughout the game, Curtis specifically could be heard from the stands leading chants and even making one up, a spin off of “Cut It” by O.T. Genasis.

“Energy from the dugout, [Curtis] and [Walker] were just being loud, making up cheers, singing,” Collins said. “That helps the team just have energy. Energy is the biggest piece. If we have energy, we’ll win ball games.”

“That’s the fun part of softball … If you’re just quiet, that’s when you start getting dead. That’s when you start being lazy and sleeping,” Collins said. “For them to be loud, and cheering, and pepping up the team, it gave everybody a little boost of energy.”

Having fun also helps the game come easier.

“When you’re laughing and smiling and just having fun, that’s when a lot of times you’re the most successful,” Collins said. “When you’re not trying to press, you’re just going up with ease and handling business and playing the game that is fun.”

Learning from your mistakes

Last Friday against Buford, HoCo got runners on base in the first three innings, but didn’t bring home their first run until the fourth. They ended up losing 7-3.

The Lady Bears had a similar start against Lee County. They put runners on in three of the first four innings, and the Lady Trojans took the lead in the fourth.

But, they were able to pick themselves up against an opponent who was all over it defensively. Even deep outfield hits were reduced to singles because of how quickly Lee County got the ball in.

When the mistakes happened, though, they made it count. Specifically on two run downs, where the Lady Trojans lost the ball while going for the tag.

Learning their lesson proved to be pivotal in a big region series.

“Tonight I was like, ‘Y’all, we’re getting runners on … let’s [win the inning],’” Collins said. “What I liked about the team just then [was] … we got behind, but we knew we were always ahead. So we just executed it and made things happen, because we knew it was gonna happen, it was just when.”

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HoCo will aim for the first-place spot in the region as they head down to Leesburg for the doubleheader on Thursday.