Kosciusko will begin its quest for a 4A state championship in baseball with a best-of-three series against North Pontotoc. The first game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Kosciusko, followed by 6 p.m. at North Pontotoc Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday at Kosciusko, if necessary.
The key to playoff success, Coach Derrik Boland said, is, “Just showing up every day, ready to work. Showing up on game day with the right mindset. When we show up ready to go, we play our best baseball.”
The Whippets won their final three regular season games, including a come-from behind 7-6 victory over Choctaw County. Kosciusko also defeated Morton 14-4 and Choctaw Central 7-0 in a region 4-4A game.
Choctaw County took a 6-3 lead after four innings. Kosciusko scored one run in the sixth and three in the seventh, with the winning run scoring on a wild pitch.
Will Carter, Ty Ramage, and Connor Wallace combined for 3.1 innings of shoutout relief. Wallace had a single, a triple and two walks, drove in two runs and scored three. Eli Dale had two hits and two RBIs for Choctaw County.
It was the Whippets second win of the season over Choctaw County, the 4-3A champion.
The Morton game started out competitive, with three lead changes in the first two innings. Morton scored twice in the top of the first. Kosciusko responded with three in the bottom of the inning. The Panthers went back ahead with two in the second, a lead that was quickly erased when the Whippets put up another three spot in the bottom of the inning.
Any suspense was extinguished when Kosciusko scored eight runs in the third, resulting in the game ending after 3½ innings.
“We took advantage of some opportunities they gave us,” Boland said. “They made a few errors and walked a few guys and our guys did a good job of taking advantage of that. We had some big hits that inning.”
Kosciusko’s nine hits included a single and double by Larson Fancher, two singles by Nolen Yuille, a triple by Wallace and a double by Jacob Nunn, who drove in three runs.
Yuille pitched the first five innings against Choctaw Central, allowing one hit, with three strikeouts.
“He started out a little rough; struggled with command early on,” Boland said. “He didn’t have his stuff early on, but he kept grinding and eventually got back in a groove.”
Parker Ryals finished up with two hitless innings.
Yuille also had a double and a triple, with five RBIs. Wallace had a single and a double, and Kaylan Powell had two hits.
Kosciusko was runner-up in 4-4A and North Pontotoc finished third in 1-4A.
“We try to keep it loose and let them have fun,” Boland said.
