Houston County eyes state title No. 5, with Newnan in the way

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          A fifth state title sits in front of Houston County when the Bears take on Newnan at CoolRay Field in Lawrenceville.

          First pitch for the opener in the GHSA Class 5A best of three championship series is 5 p.m.

          Houston County is 33-5 while Newnan is 30-5.

          The teams have one common opponent, Hillgrove. Newnan won 7-2 in early March, about three weeks after Houston County won 6-1.

          The Bears have been pretty good away from home, going 10-1 in away games and 5-3 at neutral sites.

          Houston County hasn’t lost since April 3, 5-2 to Stony Brook (N.Y.). Newnan’s 24-game winning streak was stopped when it lost the second game of its playoff series with Habersham Central, the Cougars then winning 6-2 to move on.

          This is rare are for Newnan, in its first finale since 1991.

          Kendall Jackson, Vick Gann, and Isaiah Galason key the offense, Jackson one of the state’s top base-stealers. Power is spread throughout the lineup.

          South Florida commit Will Allen will get the ball first for Houston County, which hasn’t faced a Game 3 in the postseason.

          Newnan is 3-1 in one-run games to 0-3 for Houston County, which is 1-2 in two-run games, Newnan 1-1.

          But the Bears have the momentum of having dispatched in two games Loganville, which has won six state titles since Houston County topped the Red Devils in a memorable 2016 championship series.