Cats, Lady Cats look to bounce back
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Coach Tyler Barham looks on as senior Destiny Eubanks gets ready to come off third base in the Lady Cats loss to Wayne County last week.
Photo by Russell Turner – Herald Editor
From Staff Reports
The GCHS baseball and softball teams are looking to bounce back this week after a couple of tough losses last week.
The Lady Wildcats appeared to have regained a little of their softball swagger last week, but a heartbreaking loss to Wayne County at home on Friday will test their resolve as they face a rugged schedule this week.
GCHS pounded out 11 hits and 20 runs against an overmatched Perry Central team last Thursday. Juniors Brooklyn Lee and Kat Garrett, along with sophomore CharLee Meadows, led the team with two hits each in the 3-inning game. Meadows led the team with four runs scored, while Garrett followed with three. Lee, Garrett and senior Destiny Eubanks each doubled in the game, while junior Hannah Hillman tripled.
Taylor Brewer allowed just one hit over three innings of work to earn the win in the pitcher’s circle for GCHS.
The Lady Cats carried the momentum into Friday’s non-region matchup with Wayne County. They took a 4-2 lead after the first inning and had a chance to win the back-and-forth battle in walk-off fashion, but could not get the job done. Trailing 7-6 going into the bottom of the seventh, GCHS tacked on the tying run and had bases loaded with no outs. Unfortunately, a hard line-drive led to an inning-ending double play, taking the air out of the Lady Cats. Wayne County capitalized on the newfound momentum and rolled off seven runs in the top of the eighth to claim the 14-7 win.
Junior Tiana Caver led the way for GCHS at the plate. She crushed a pitch over the center fielder’s head in the bottom of the first inning to drive in three runs, and turned the triple into a run scored, as she took advantage of a poor relay by the visitors and rounded the bases. Meadows had three hits and a RBI. Lee, Garrett, Eubanks, Hillman and Jordan also scored for the Lady Cats.
GCHS players didn’t have time to dwell on Friday’s setback as they face a tough stretch on the schedule this week. They traveled to South Jones on Tuesday (no results available) and will play host to 5A Picayune on Thursday. This weekend, the Lady Cats will participate in a tournament in D’Iberville and face West Lauderdale, Pascagoula and D’Iberville. They will take on Gautier on Monday in their final warmup before starting region play on Tuesday at Sumrall.
On the baseball diamond, the Wildcats dropped two tough losses to their rivals from George County last week, but bounced back with a convincing win over the visiting Citronelle (Ala.) Wildcats on Saturday.
The Wildcats managed just three hits against George County in a 5-1 loss to the 6A Rebels in non-region play last Tuesday. Sophomore Gannon Henderson provided one of those hits and also scored his team’s only run after reaching on an error in the fifth inning. Seniors Kade Kittrell and Dylan Miller had the team’s other hits.
Senior Malachi Graham had a solid outing on the mound for GCHS, scattering seven hits over six innings of work. Only one of the four runs Graham allowed were earned as he struck out five, walked just one, but was hurt by three fielding errors.
The Cats managed just three hits against the Rebels in the rematch at Lucedale on Friday. But, a strong pitching performance by senior Drake Henderson kept Greene County in the game. The Rebels managed just three hits themselves, but strung all three together in the fifth inning when they plated three runs. The Wildcats scored two in the top half of the sixth and had a runner in scoring position in the seventh, but couldn’t get the run across and fell by a 3-2 margin.
Henderson finished with 11 strikeouts over 11 innings of work, but was touched for the three earned runs. Miller was 0-for-2 at the plate, but had an RBI in the game for the Cats. Henderson helped his own cause with a RBI single that scored senior Peyton Roberts, who along with his younger brother Ethan were the only other Wildcats to register a hit.
The bats heated back up for Greene County at home on Saturday as they took out their frustrations on Citronelle with 12 hits in a 10-0 non-region win. Graham had a big day at the plate to lead GCHS. He finished 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored. Miller, who was 1-for-4 on the day also had two RBIs for GCHS. Peyton Roberts set the tone in the leadoff spot for the Cats, going 3-for-4 on the day with two runs scored. Kittrell added an RBI and two runs scored, while Henderson was 1-of-2 with a RBI and a run scored. Sophomore Brayden Brewer also came up big for the Wildcats, finishing 2-for-3 at the plate with a RBI and two runs scored.
Cats beat Perry Central
Roberts had a big night at New Augusta on Tuesday, picking up four hits in four at bats to lead GCHS to a 12-2 win over Perry Central. Roberts’ night included two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Senior Kade Kittrell and sophomore Gannon Henderson had two hits apiece. Kittrell scored three times and had a RBI, while Henderson had a RBI and one run scored.
Graham went four innings to earn the win on the mound. He allowed just one hit, struck out five and walked one.
With the win, GCHS improved to 5-2 on the year. T
elle on Friday, host East Central on Saturday and have a home-and-away series with Vancleave next week.
