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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL FOUR From page 4B both shutouts and had five total hits of her own at the plate. She had six strikeouts in Game 1 while allowing just two hits and no walks. In the second game, which went the full seven innings, Gilliam had five strikeouts, gave up seven hits and one walk while receiving fine defensive help. Westfield’s offense didn’t develop until the fifth inning of the opener. The Hornets had three hits through the first four innings, includ ing a hustling double by Gilliam. The pitcher had a perfect game going through that same stretch, but a one out single broke it up in the top of the fifth. Gilliam’s next turn at bat came leading off the home fifth, and she drilled her second double to the fence. This started a four-run out burst as the Hornet bats put the ball in play and made numerous things happen, like three errors by North Cobb Christian. “Eventually, you are going to get a key hit,” said Culverhouse. “Once we got that one key it, it was like the next one wanted one and the next one wanted one, and it kept on.” The coach still sense some frustration with a popped up bunt attempt on the first (:}'§£'/■ „ 't l{^ y jjfj|l 1* 'y, ■\ J '"dst§ * < >^-" w ''' ' " " s " ~rfl - - jjFjw ||lT —: nil f- nnr s£• <«« •3js§®k Journal/Matthew Brown Darryl Ann Thompson looks to Head Coach Rodney Culverhouse for a sign. REGION From page 4B Warner Robins High in the finalregionstandings, so both the Bears and Demonettes went to Lowndes County on Saturday with Class AAAAA state south sectional bids already sewn up. Things didn’t start up well for Houston County though with a loss right off the bat to Tift County High. For the Bears, that meant they needed two wins in a row to at least get a favorable seed ing for the state sectionals and four wins in a row to win the 1-AAAAA champi onship. Coach Angela Crawford’s club got those four wins, the last two coming against Warner Robins, which had swept the regular-season home at-home series with the Bears. Tift County beat Houston 4-2 with two runs in the seventh inning. The encour aging sign for the Bears was that leadoff hitter Danielle Burkett went 3-for-4 at the plate. That hot hitting would carry on the rest of the day as Burkett had 12 hits in 19 at-bats. Crawford said Brianna Hancock had a “wonderful” pitching outing against Tift, which stranded several run ners throughout the game before taking the lead for good in the seventh. The coach went with Hancock again in the circle for the first of four straight elimina tion contests, which pitted the Bears against one of the tournament hosts, Lowndes High. B I f ■ ipi n ■- is p*.'. , . . . ' , * ~ :rmm , •' *t V - ..■ ■■■ - • - ■ , . ; '' - * '■'"4 __ . - . ■ ■•»«*•.. ’ - - •: .- ’. - ~y : . L—; Journal/Matthew Brown Mason Moreland slides into the bag during state tournament action Saturday in Dublin. "Eventually, you are going to get a key Nt.once we got that one key it, It was like the next one wanted one and the next one wanted one, and it kept on.” - Westfield Head Softball Coach Rodney Culverhouse pitch after the double, but Shae Horsting, the desig nated player in the No. 9 spot, put the ball in the right spot, and the North Cobb Hancock struck out five batters in five innings, which is as long as the game lasted as Houston won big over the Vikettes 11-1. Kourtny Thomas ended the game with a two-run home run in the fifth inning. Kaitlyn Carriker was the leading hitter overall with three safties. Danielle Burkett had two more hits, as did sister Ashlee Burkett, Sarah Ling and Taylor Fountain. Carriker, who once already in her high school career was the winning pitcher for an elimination game in the postseason, got the start for Houston’s rematch with Tift. Crawford said her off-speed stuff kept the Devil batters off balance, and the offense gave her enough support for a 3-2 win. Danielle Burkett, with three more hits in the game, drove in the key run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. That put the Bears ahead 3-0. Once one game ended, Houston had another one waiting for it right away. The tournament came down to the Bears and Warner Robins. Demonette pitcher Kristen Graham was throw ing a 2-0 shutout going into the seventh inning. That’s when Houston was finally able to string some hits together and take the lead 3-2. Danielle Burkett was first up and got on base with a sin gle. She scored as Carriker singled and Ashlee Burkett singled. Thomas bunted the runners on base over, which enabled Ling to bring both home with a hit. infield booted it for a first and-third situation. Haley Way ran at third and Caroline Pfohl at first, and the pair pulled off the “Kristen Graham is a great pitcher,” said Crawford. “We struggled against her all year. But we were able to put stuff together, and it carried over to the last game.” That same combination of players started the decided game with the Demonettes, and the result was the same. Houston this time led 3-0 and held on to win another 3-2 final. Danielle Burkett was 3- for-4 to end her fine offen sive day. “She’s definitely the main reason we were so success ful,” said Crawford. “She’s , it ' f?) ' W ■ mt H W a H ■hu ™ k-i'sg mtmm-: • 24 Hour Access • free Weights • Personal Training •Treadmills • Family Plan fluailable • no Contracts • online Personal Training qSflfc 1030 Ball Street (Downtown Perry) W 987-8516 00054580 SPORTS double steal to end the scoreless deadlock. With two outs, Hanna Jones hit a ball dropped in the outfield (2- 0) and Christine Campbell reached on a second infield error (3-0). Jamie Marshall’s double completed the rally at 4-0. With three hits and two more errors, Westfield scored four more times in the bot tom of the sixth. That ended the game on the mercy rule. The inning started with an error, which Gilliam followed with her third straight dou ble to the right-center gap. With the bases loaded and one out, Mason Moreland flared her second hit of the game in the right spot for an RBI and Jones singled up the middle (6-0). Marshall, after the sec ond NCC error plated a run, drove in the eight run on a fly-out. Game 2 began much more to Culverhouse’s liking. Westfield played as the visi tors on the scoreboard and lit that board up for five runs in the top of the first. “We just picked up where we left off” he said. “When you get five in the first inning, your confidence level is pretty high.” Moreland reached on an infield single, stole two bases and scored on yet another North Cobb error. Campbell doubled for an RBI, Marshall singled for an RBI, and after Audrey Clearman’s hit Jennifer Wrye batted home two. Marshall scored in the sec ond (6-0) after she doubled to left and Clearman tripled. Horsting hit an RBI dou a good baserunner. If she gets on, and the 2-5 hitters execute with the bunt and everything, we are in good shape.” The south sectionals for AAAAA begin Friday and continue through Saturday at Lovejoy Park in Hampton. Houston County drew Johnson High of Savannah for its first game while Warner Robins will meet Groves High of Garden City on Friday. “It seems like we’re work ing together at the right time,” said Crawford. “This is a big weekend coming up with some tough competi IT’S TIME TO SHAPE UP! Join for the months of October & November and get DECEMBER FREET ’New members only. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2007 ♦ ble in the third, an inning Gilliam led off with a single. The eighth run didn’t come until the seventh on three straight hits by Clearman, Wrye and Gilliam. In the last three innings, Pfohl had the chance to play some defense in right field while Jenny Grier spelled Sydney Smith in left field. In the fifth inning, Pfohl, just as starter Darryl Ann Thompson did in the first game, denied a North Cobb batter of a safety by getting a ball hit her way to first base in time. Grier meanwhile had a Journal/Matthew Brown Jones catches a ball at shortstop. tion from Regions 2-4.” A win against Johnson could set up a second round game for the Bears with Luella High. It was Luella that beat Houston County in WARNER ROBINS 612 BALL STREET CfTDDT V PERRY, GA li M (Turn at New Perry Hotel & go three blocks) OF PERRY PORTER CEILING WHITE 1 Gal. Reg. $11.99 80119 ' " WHITE LIGHTNING CAULK mb 9 Each 8644 REG. $1.70 WE ARE PORTER PAINT SPECIALISTS WE RENT •Trenchers‘Generators •Nail Guns •Compressors •Log Splitters* Tillers & More! Sale Prices Good At Perry | MQN.-FR1.7:30-5:30 • SAT.B:OO-1:00 running catch in the fifth and made a relay throw to first in time for an out in the seventh. “It’s sad that they’re subs because all of these girls are good ball players,” said Culverhouse. “We’re not carrying people just to have a uniform on. They are out there for a reason.” Joining Westfield will be George Walton, a team that lost only to Westfield all sea son, and First Presbyterian, a team the Hornets could not beat in 2007 after knock ing off the Vikings two times in last year’s finals. last year’s south sectionals in Dublin. After that loss, the Bears won three in a row the following day to qualify for the final eight in Columbus. 478-987-2334 CONCRETE MIX 43660 REG. $3.69 Bxßxl6 CONCRETE BLOCK 1065 Mint Craft Palm Leather WORK GLOVES “Pair REG. $2.99 Location Through 10-23-07 Visit our website at www.WRSUPPLY.com 5B (55005.