Together again naturally!
When Kosciusko softball begins play in the North State final Thursday, there will be a familiar opponent in the other dugout. It will be Kosciusko vs. West Lauderdale for a trip to the championship series for the third year in a row.
West Lauderdale rebounded from a 3-2 loss to Itawamba AHS in the first game of a best-of-three series with 3-1 and 5-1 victories to join Kosciusko in the North State final.
In one of the state's best softball rivalries, Kosciusko has won eight in a row, but most of the games have been tight, including 2-0 and 10-9 victories this year.
West Lauderdale is 25-8, but all the losses have been close games against quality opponents. In addition to the losses to Kosciusko and Itawamba AHS, West Lauderdale was defeated twice by Northwest Rankin, the state's top-ranked team, 2-0 and 4-1, twice to second ranked Neshoba Central 2-1 and 3-2 and once by Brandon 3-2. That's eight losses by a total of 12 runs.
West Lauderdale and Kosciusko will not be region opponents next year when the Lady Whippets move to 3-4A while the Lady Knights remain in 4-4A. But they very well might meet again in the playoffs.
First pitch Thursday will be at 6:30 p.m. at Kosciusko.
