After some rough outings last week that saw losses to Oconee County and Hart County, the Panthers of Jackson County are hoping for a rebound this week as they travel to Stephens County on Thursday.
A win will be tall order for the Panthers. The Indians enter play undefeated in the region, and with a 12-2 overall record. In the last meeting of the two teams, on March 30, Stephens County came away with a 16-0 win.
First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 5:55 p.m.
Oconee County
Fresh off a region victory over Eastside, the Panthers were hoping to stay on a roll when they traveled to Oconee County last Wednesday to face the Warriors, who entered the game with a 3-2 record in the region.
While the Panthers didn’t hit the ball that bad, getting six hits and five runs in five innings, they were out-paced by the Warriors, who hit four homers in a five inning game. Oconee County would go on to win 15-4.
Austin Robinson led the team at the plate with a two run homer in the top of the second inning.
Hart County
After being rained out on Friday, the Panthers traveled on Saturday to face Hart County, and a game that would decide fourth place in the region heading into the second half of region play.
Jackson County went to work early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on a Rob Williams RBI single and a double steal.
But things went bad for the Panthers in the bottom of the first, as they made three errors on three of the first five batters, allowing Hart to score seven runs as a result.
John Florentine battled back on the mound, holding Hart scoreless through the second and third innings while, at the plate, the Panthers scored a run in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to four runs.
But trouble reared its head again in the bottom of the fourth, as Hart scored three runs to extend their lead. The Panthers were never able to recover, as the Bulldogs added one run in the fifth off reliever Larry Evans, and two more runs in the sixth to end the game early with a 13-3 final.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald and The Braselton News.
