Two Houston County softball teams are headed to Columbus

A pair of Houston County teams are headed to Columbus this week after their second-round victories.

Houston County

The Lady Bears thumped Jackson County with several standout performances to advance to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year.

HoCo won 9-4 and 9-0 behind a phenomenal showing from pitcher Piper Lambert, who struck out 22 batters and allowed seven hits and two earned runs in the 13 innings she pitched.

Consistent hitting is what did it for the Lady Bears as they got production from up and down the lineup, including nine-hole Alanah McKenzie who blasted a three-run bomb in Game 2 as her final hit on her home field.

Now they’ll head out to Columbus, where they face South Effingham on Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m.

Perry

Perry fought hard, but ultimately their season ended at the hands of North Oconee last week.

The Titans have been a thorn in the side of Perry athletics for the last several years, and this was no different.

The Lady Panthers went down 6-2 in the first two innings of the opening game, but they made a comeback attempt in the final two innings. Camilla English, Kate Murphy and Rayanna Harrell each drove home a run in the sixth, and English added one more in the seventh, but ultimately North Oconee won 8-6.

Perry finished Wednesday night out with an upset win 4-3. The two teams were a combined 8-for-46 (.173) in Game 2, but the Lady Panthers scored in three straight innings to take a 4-2 lead. The Titans added a run in the sixth, but two fly outs and a three-up-three-down seventh gave Perry the win.

The luck ran out, though, as the Lady Panthers were held to one run in Game 3 as North Oconee advanced with the 9-1 victory.

Veterans

Veterans pulled off a big upset on the road against Glynn Academy last week, and they’re headed to Columbus for the second year in a row.

The Terrors eked out a 1-0 win to open the series, but the Lady Warhawks took it the rest of the way.

Caidence Scott allowed three hits and no earned runs in Game 2’s 4-1 victory. She also struck out five batters.

Veterans went up 2-0 in the second, but Braylin Horton’s two-run bomb in the fourth gave them some extra cushion.

Game 3 was all ‘Hawks as they put up crooked numbers in three innings and blasted two more home runs — a three-run jack from Bella Fendley and a solo homer from Maddy Kinkade.

Veterans batted 13-for-35 (.371) and drove in 10 runs in the 11-4 win. Kinkade was a team-best 3-for-5, and Fendley brought home a team-high four RBI.

Next the Lady Warhawks will line up against Lassiter in Columbus on Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m.