The Houston County Bears are headed back to the Final Four after surviving a thrilling 8-7 victory over the Woodward Academy War Eagles Saturday evening in College Park. The win secured the deciding Game 3 of the GHSA Class 5A quarterfinal series and sent Houston County to the semifinals for the fourth straight season.
Houston County started fast, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning and building an early 3-0 lead. Woodward Academy quickly responded in the bottom of the second with back-to-back solo home runs to cut the deficit to 3-2 and shift momentum to the home crowd.
The Bears added another run in the fourth inning to take a 4-2 advantage, but the War Eagles continued to answer, trimming the lead to 4-3 soon after. Houston County struggled to generate offense through the middle innings, hitting into three consecutive double plays in the second, third, and fourth innings. A baserunning mistake in the fifth also proved costly when Isaiah Galason slipped over the first base bag and was picked off.
Despite the offensive setbacks, Houston County carried a narrow 4-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth. Freshman reliever Kaiden Harvey entered with runners aboard and two outs, but after a full-count walk loaded the bases, Woodward slugger Myles Tate delivered a clutch three-run double to give the War Eagles their first lead of the night at 6-4.
Facing elimination in the seventh inning, the Bears responded with resilience. Galason opened the inning with a single before Noah Odom drove in a run with a double to make it 6-5. After Peyton Nauss reached base and stole second, Houston County had runners at second and third with one out.
Junior Davion Hammonds then delivered the biggest hit of the game for the Bears. After struggling at the plate throughout much of the postseason, Hammonds lined a go-ahead two-run single to put Houston County back in front 7-6. The Bears later added an insurance run to extend the lead to 8-6.
Woodward Academy made one final push in the bottom of the seventh, scoring on a sacrifice play to cut the deficit to 8-7 and placing the tying run at third base with two outs. Houston County sealed the win with a game-ending 6-3 groundout.
Sophomore Ryan Maxwell earned the start for the Bears, pitching five innings with six strikeouts while allowing three runs, only two earned. Houston County improved to 28-8 and will now host Pope in the Class 5A semifinals.
