Panthers down, but are not quitting
BY JUSTIN POOLE
Jackson County has not had a stroke of luck on the diamond. The past three games have all been losses for the entrenched team, but the Panthers are looking to the upcoming games for wins. On Wednesday, March 19, they face Heritage, then on Friday the team plays Eastside. The next home game is March 24 against Winder-Barrow.
“It's been a tough stretch of games. Rockdale and Habersham were beatable and we just didn't execute in certain phases of the game,” said coach Tommy Fountain. “Against Habersham, we didn't hit the ball as well as we should have against the quality of pitching we were facing. On Friday, against Rockdale, our defense failed us early and then we forgot how to hit after the third inning. On Monday, we played great for three and a half innings against a very good ball club, but then fell apart.”
Currently Jackson County is 1-6 in the region and 2-7 overall.
HABERSHAM
The Panthers faced Habersham, March 12 in Mt. Airy. This was the team’s third game in as many days. Habersham was able to edge out Jackson County with a 7-4 win.
Matt Bolt pitched for the Panthers in his first career start and only gave up two runs in the first three innings. While the Raiders were first on the board in the second inning, and scoring another run in the third, Jackson County responded with a run in the fourth. According to Fountain, Bolt hit some trouble in the bottom of the fourth, allowing five hits. Habersham scored five runs in the fourth and that was the last time they scored during the game.
In the top of the fifth the Panthers were looking for a comeback after scoring three runs, and in the seventh had loaded the bases. Jackson County just could not bring the runners in despite a great attempt.
ROCKDALE
Last Friday’s game against Rockdale County had the Panthers suffering another costly five-run inning. Rockdale took advantage of a couple of errors to get ahead early then clinched the game after Jackson County tied the score in the third. Rockdale beat JCCHS 9-4.
Trevor Booth pitched the game for the Panthers and had 13 strikeouts, but also four errors. The Panthers scored their four runs in the first three innings on four hits. Bolt made his first home run of the season, but according to Fountain, the Panthers were struggling when it came time to put the ball in play when they needed it.
MADISON
On Monday, the team was at Madison where according to Fountain the team fell apart after three and a half innings. Madison beat the Panthers 11-1.
Matt Broom persevered through four innings giving up two hits but walking eight. After three innings the score was 0-0, but in the bottom of the fourth Madison scored three runs. After a couple more errors the game ended due to the run rule.
“We are a better team than what we're playing right now,” Fountain said. “We show glimpses of being pretty good, but there is no consistency. When you've struggled as much as this program has in the past, one of the toughest things to learn is how to be consistent. We're going to go back to work at practice and start spending a little more time on being consistent and how to respond to failure. Baseball is a game of failure and if every time something goes wrong you drop your head, things will get real bad real fast. Before you can learn how to win games, you have to learn how to respond to the little things that sometimes happen in baseball. Once you learn to respond correctly to those, you can start winning games. I think our guys are improving and are learning how to win. It just doesn't happen overnight. If my guys keep working hard and keep their heads up, we'll be ok. We have got a chance to win some games and build some confidence going into the second half of the season.”
The Panthers will be facing Heritage Wednesday, March 19, and then Eastside on Friday.
