By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Callaway Cavaliers came up short in their first county showdown this season, so they’re hoping for a better result this time around.

Callaway, which lost to Troup 4-0 last week, will host LaGrange today, with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m.

That game is part of a busy week for the local baseball teams, who all will play multiple games between now and Saturday.

Callaway (5-3) got solid pitching in last week’s game against Troup, but it was unable to get anything going at the plate in the 4-0 loss.

Chandler Lott and Walt Stewart combined to hold Troup to three hits and two earned runs, but Callaway managed just two hits.

The Cavaliers were playing without normal starting infielder Wesley Marchman, who is out with a broken finger.

Marchman pitched during a doubleheader on Saturday, but he’s unable to hit, leaving a big hole in the lineup.

“We’ve got a long way to go offensively,” Callaway head coach Dusty Hubbard said. “And it didn’t help us that Wesley was unable to go.”

Callaway did have more offensive success on Saturday, particularly in a 9-8 victory over Shaw when it scored six runs in the sixth inning to take the lead.

Later in the day, Callaway lost to Upson-Lee 8-3.

After today’s game, Callaway finishes its week with a road game against Pike County on Friday.

Troup (5-0) plays a pair of games this week as it looks to remain unbeaten.

First up will be today’s game at Upson-Lee, and Troup is scheduled to host Central-Phenix City on Thursday.

As expected, pitching has been a strength for the Tigers, who have shutouts in three of their first five games.

Garrett Casey and Colby Williams have started four of the five games, and they’ve been close to unhittable so far.

In his two starts, Williams has thrown a total of nine innings, and he hasn’t allowed an earned run while striking out 14 men.

Williams also appeared in relief against Callaway, and he struck out the side in the seventh inning.

Casey has thrown 10 innings in his two starts, and he hasn’t given up a run of any kind while striking out 20.

LaGrange will be the busiest of the local teams this week with five games scheduled in five days, beginning with today’s game at Callaway.

After that, the Grangers will play four games in the LaGrange Toyota Invitational.

The tournament features eight teams, four from Georgia, and four from out of state.

LaGrange opens the tournament against Pace (Fla.) on Thursday at 7 p.m., and it plays Johs Creek on Friday at 7 p.m.

LaGrange plays First Academy (Fla.) on Saturday at 10 a.m., and it will play a place game later in the day.

After dropping its first four games, LaGrange won back-to-back games against Columbus and Lambert before losing to Mill Creek.

LaGrange beat Columbus 1-0 for its break-through win, with John Morgan pitching the complete-game shutout, and Will Alford hit a solo home run.

“I’m just happy for them,” LaGrange head coach David Smart said after the Columbus game. “They’ve gotten better every time out, and they played pretty good last night and came up short. We finally were able to get one tonight.”

In private-school baseball this week, the Lafayette Christian School baseball team will face Troup’s junior-varsity team in a doubleheader on Saturday.

Troup will be the host team, with the first game set to begin at 4 p.m.

LaGrange Academy will open its season on Saturday at home against Heritage.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

TODAY

LaGrange at Callaway, 5:30 p.m.

Troup at Upson-Lee, 5:30 p.m.

THURSDAY

Central-Phenix City at Troup, 5:55 p.m.

Pace at LaGrange, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY

Callaway at Pike County, 5:55 p.m.

Johns Creek at LaGrange, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

First Academy at LaGrange, 10 a.m.

Lafayette Christian at Troup junior varsity, 4 p.m.

Heritage at LaGrange Academy, 1 p.m.