Lens and Listen: 2014 HoCo baseball championship

Let us take you back to Memorial Day, May 27, 2014.

The Houston County Bears baseball team had entered the Class AAAAA state tournament as the No. 2 seed out of Region 2. It had swept Region 4’s No. 3, Northgate, in two games (6-5, 6-3). It had knocked off Lee County, the No. 4 seed out of Region 1 – an upset winner over No. 1 seed Ware County – in two games (10-0, 4-3). The boys of summer had beaten North Paulding, Region 5, No. 3, in the Elite Eight 2-0 as well (6-1, 12-5).

They had continued by beating Gainesville, the No. 1 out of Region 8, in three games (6-2, 7-13, 7-4).

That brought Whitewater and the finals into the picture. Game 1 went to Houston County, 8-7. Game 2 went to Whitewater, 8-6.

On the aforementioned day, the Bears found themselves trailing 3-0. Hunter Phillips’ single in the bottom of the second cut it to 3-1. The Wildcats got it back in the third but Houston County’s bats came to life in the fourth. Highlighted by a Hunt Smith grand slam, the Bears took a 7-4 lead. Whitewater cut it to 7-6 before Josh Profit’s solo shot in the sixth made it 8-6. With Justin Jones – a workhorse throughout the playoffs – on the mound, Houston County made it stick to win for the title.

Now, we invite you to relive the sights and sounds as we present you with Lens and Listen.