The Houston Co Bears are one of the best baseball teams in the country. Star players for the Bears include Jaden Woods (a senior lefty-pitcher currently committed to UGA), senior and four-year starter Jacob Profit (an infield player who’s signed with Reinhardt), junior Brodie Chestnutt (a righty-pitcher committed with West Virginia) and junior Treyson Hughes (an outfielder set to play at FSU). The Bears faced their first home loss of the season this past Friday night against Locust Grove, one of the top teams in 5A. The Bears are currently 5-3 overall and are getting ready to travel to Hoover, Alabama to play in a tournament that will feature some extremely tough competition.
Houston Co has already taken on some impressive opponents this season, including a tournament in Lakepoint, GA where the Bears Houston defeated Tattnall Square 11-4, lost to North Paulding 4-3 in 8 innings, and lost to Blessed Trinity 7-2. The Bears also had a home doubleheader against Eastside back on February 22nd where they took both games by a score of 2-1.
Houston will open region play at home against Valdosta on March 13th to begin their Region Title defense. This year, however, the Bears appear to have even higher aspirations: The State Championship. Achieving such will be no easy task and the Bears can’t rely on talent alone. They will need to play with discipline and stay humble if they hope to pull off such a feat. The Bears have a tough non-region schedule to prepare them for the 6A State Playoffs. Close games that come down to the wire should help the Bears be ready when the time comes to face the best teams in Class 6A. But before the Bears get too caught up in their State Championship ambitions, they must first come out on top of their Region.
Following the Hoover, AL Tournament, 12 of their remaining 18 games will be Region games. Region 1-AAAAAA is filled with talent so the Bears will need to be at their best if they hope to win the Region-title again this season.
Sound and Soul correspondent Greg Elrod recently sat down with Matt Hopkins, the Bears head baseball coach, to discuss the team’s season so far and his expectations going forward. Click here to hear their full conversation.