By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

COCHRAN – It wasn’t the ending they were hoping for, but it was still a special summer for the Troup County National 7-8-year-old all-stars.

The season came to a close for Troup County on Saturday with a heart-breaking loss in the coach-pitch state tournament in Cochran.

Troup County scored three runs in the sixth and final inning, but the comeback fell short, and Jones County walked away with an 8-7 victory to advance to the state-championship game.

Troup County, which won the district tournament in Manchester, finished the summer with a 9-2 record, and it placed third in the state.

Including travel ball, the team went 25-7 and went unbeaten in four tournaments.

“These boys, we could not be more proud of them,” Troup head coach Nick Burns said. “They were well-prepared, they worked their tail off. To see the hurt that they had, that was tough.”

Burns said he appreciated the effort and commitment that all of the players showed.

“These boys, they were so focused,” Burns said. “They love it. These kids were always prepared, and they know how to compete.”

After going 4-0 in the pool-play at state, Troup returned to Cochran on Friday along with six other teams for the double-elimination portion of the tournament.

Troup lost to Cochran 5-3 on Friday, putting it in a must-win situation on Saturday.

Including travel-ball games, Troup had won 14 consecutive games before losing to Cochran.

In its first game on Saturday, Troup beat Perry 4-3 in a thriller, and it was back on the field later in the day against Jones County.

It was another tight one, and Troup was down 8-4 heading into the sixth and final inning.

Troup got within one on a two-run, inside-the-park home run by Brody Buc Cofield, and Ben Schory’s base hit put the tying run on base with two outs.

Troup was unable to push the tying run across, though, and it was Jones County celebrating the hard-earned win.

Riley Cockrell had a big game for Troup with three hits, and Brody Buc Cofield had two hits, including his home run.

Grant Chaffin had two hits with an RBI, and Ben Schory had two hits.

Laken Tippy had a hit and an RBI, Sam Burns, Trace Bailey, Bear Napier and Wyatt Martin each had a hit, and Davis Keese had an RBI.

In Saturday’s first game against Perry, it was tied 3-3 when Troup came to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Laken Tippy and Bear Napier began things with back-to-back singles, and they both moved up a base on a groundout by Davis Keese.

That brought Hayden Browning to the plate, and his line-drive single to center field brought in Tippy with the winning run.

Troup took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the first, and Perry tied it with three runs in the top of the third.

It remained deadlocked at 3-3 until Troup won it on Browning’s hit.

Cason McGill led Troup with two hits, and Sam Burns, Riley Cockrell, Trace Bailey, Ben Schory, Laken Tippy, Bear Napier and Hayden Browning each had a hit.

Cofield had two RBIs, and Bailey and Browning each had one RBI.

In Friday’s game, Troup County trailed Cochran 5-0 after three innings.

Troup scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but Cochran held on for the 5-3 victory.

Riley Cockrell, Ben Schory and Wyatt Martin each had two hits, and Hayden Browning had one hit.

Sam Burns and Martin each had an RBI.

TEAM MEMBERS

PLAYERS

Trace Bailey, Sam Burns, Grant Chaffin, Bear Napier, Benjamin Schory, Riley Cockrell, Laken Tippy, Cason McGill, Davis Keese, Wyatt Martin, Brody Buc Cofield and Hayden Browning

COACHES

Nick Burns (head coach), Brent Bailey, Bryan McGill, Jeremy Cockrell, Mat