Game Recap: #10 Lowndes vs #4 Houston County

Tue February 14, 2023
PBR Georgia State Director
Hudson Graham

On February 13th two of the top teams in South Georgia squared off at Houston County. Lowndes made the trip a couple hours north to give the Bears a top 10 match up for their season opener. The Vikings have a few of their top players sidelined with some injuries that they will be getting back in a couple weeks. The Bears capitalized on mistakes, and pulled away for the win in their season opener. Catch up on all the action below.

Uncommitted senior, Qrey Lott got the start on the mound for Lowndes. He started out the game with two quick strikeouts. He flashed a really impressive change up and ran his fastball up to 85. After that he struggled to find the zone, and ended up with an early departure after Ryker Chavis snuck a ground ball up the middle to score two runs.


Senior, Caleb Thornton looked to relieve Lott on the mound, and work out of the first inning jam. Ethan Buffone was the first batter he faced with a 1-0 count. After battling to a 3-2 count Buffone would eventually draw the walk.  Sophomore, Vick Gann stepped up and drove in 2 more runs with a single to right field. Thornton will be a big arm on the mound for the Vikings this year. His fastball was up to 86, and flashed a good slider at 76-77. He will look to build off of his next appearance and get Lowndes back in the win column.
Georgia commit Ryker Chavis was the starter for the Bears on the mound. He cruised for three innings with his upper 80’s fastball and low 70’s curveball that kept the Lowndes hitters guessing. Qrey Lott put a really good swing on a fastball to open the second inning, but Drew Burress ran it down in center.
Burress led off the 2nd inning with a double to right center that nearly left the yard. This at-bat would lead to a big second inning that opened the lead up for the Bears. Andrew Dunford (Mercer) and Ethan Buffone both had singles.Mercer commit Kai Decker came up with a big double after an error by the shortstop.
Lowndes was able to capitalize on a few walks by the Bears in the 4th. ABAC commit Cooper Melvin drove the ball up the middle for an RBI single. Camden Cunningham came out of the pen for Houston County to work out of the jam in the 4th. Cunningham was upper 80’s, with good tempo and worked quickly to stop the Vikings from adding any more runs. Junior Landon Tankersley closed it out for the Bears and secured the 14-2 opening day victory.