Lady Eagles Win Region Opener

Up next for East Jackson is the Oconee-North Oconee Invitational, which starts Friday at Oconee Park. The Lady Eagles will face Riverwood at 5:30 p.m.

Dawson Co.

Last Tuesday, East Jackson played its first region game of the year at home, as they hosted Dawson County. Three hits from East Jackson’s Shelby Johnson scored two runs for the Lady Eagles, while Kaitlin Hill, relieving starter Haley Thompson, pitched three shutout innings to give East Jackson the 2-0 win.

“Kaitlin hasn’t been scored on all year, as far as an earned run,” said coach Jason Rainey.

North Oconee

Next up was a trip to North Oconee to face the Lady Titans. The two have developed a rivalry over the last year, and going into Thursday’s game, North Oconee was ranked second and East Jackson third in the region.

North Oconee got on the board first, and held a 1-0 lead going into the top of the seventh.

That’s when Brooklyn Watkins tied up the game with a two-out pinch-hit that sent the game into extra innings.

East Jackson scored again in the top of the eighth, but North Oconee got two runners across the plate in the bottom of the inning to take the win.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Rainey said. “Both teams played good defense. It was a championship type atmosphere.”

Junior Shelby Johnson also recorded two hits during the game.