By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

HOGANSVILLE – There was nothing Callaway coach Dusty Hubbard could say to console his players.

Losing is always tough, but when it’s the final game of the season, it’s particularly agonizing.

That’s what the Cavaliers had to deal with Friday night as their season came to a close with a loss in the second round of the Class AA state playoffs.

After losing the first game of Friday’s doubleheader 8-2, Callaway’s season ended with a 3-2 loss in the next game.

Callaway had a 2-1 lead late in Game 2, but Dodge County rallied to tie it before winning it with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

“They did a lot of things to be proud of,” Callaway coach Dusty Hubbard said. “It’s like you tell them. There’s only going to be one team that feels that way (satisfied) at the end of the year. And that’s damn hard to do. Whether you’re playing in the last game, or the second round, losing is tough.”

After the game, Hubbard had to say good-bye to the five seniors, Dylan Johnson, Josh Hanson, Ben Griffin, Slone Raper and Milton Turner.

“They’re five really good human beings, and that’s what we’re most proud of,” Hubbard said.

In Game 2, Hanson was on the mound for the Cavaliers, and he was terrific, limiting the Indians to just two hits in eight innings.

Some defensive miscues helped Dodge County tie it in the sixth inning and win it in the eighth.

“He was unbelievable,” Hubbard said of Hanson.

The game was tied 1-1 when the Cavaliers pushed a run across in the fourth inning.

Griffin reached on an error, and he later stole third base before scoring on an error, and the Cavaliers had a 2-1 lead.

That’s the way it remained until the bottom of the sixth when the Indians pushed a run across, and they won it two innings later.

Raper had a double for the Cavaliers in the second inning, and Turner had a single later in the inning.

In the first game, the Indians managed to score six runs in the first two innings despite getting just two hits against Johnson, the Cavaliers’ starting pitcher.

The Cavaliers had plenty of scoring opportunities in the game, but they were limited to single runs in the first and fourth innings.

Raper had an RBI double in the first inning, and Turner drove in a run with a single in the fourth inning.

“You can not make those mistakes that we made. You can’t do it,” Hubbard said. “You hate it. You picked a bad time to have a bad day. But that’s kind of what happened. It was tough.”

OF NOTE: For more on Friday’s games and Callaway’s season, check out Monday’s sports section. And for photos from the game, go to Facebook.com/LDNSports