Despite the lull of spring break, the Kosciusko Lady Whippets took to the road late last week, where they traveled more than 400 miles and played five games in a 24-hour period.
In the end, Kosciusko head coach Tony Terry's squad emerged 5-0 in its contest to improve to 10-0 this season. The Lady Whippets earned wins by scores of 4-0 (Florence), 2-1 (Clinton), 4-0 (Manatachie), 5-0 (Kossuth) and 8-1 (Thrasher).
"I kind of put it together, hoping to challenge them a little bit," Terry said. "We have some new people and are trying to get more cohesive, so I put this as kind of a test, and I'm going to brag on them a little bit — they did well. We had some good teams we played. Mantachie and Kossuth made it deep in the playoffs last year, and Thrasher was a really good team. Of course, everyone knows Clinton is a good team. Florence played some good ball this year and last year. We say a lot of good pitching. We saw what we wanted to see, and we came out on top of all of them, so I was really pleased with that."
Stellar pitching and defense is the formula Terry's espoused with his team, and it again provided a winning recipe. Kosciusko pitcher Katie Mitchell went 3-0 last week, while Maddy Gilmore picked up two wins.
The Lady Whippets traveled to Northeast Mississippi Community College Friday for tournament action against Manatachie, Kossuth and Thrasher.
Against Manatachie, Mitchell went five innings in the circle and struck out three, walked one and allowed just one hit. She provided ample offense, too. Mitchell led the way with a double and a single to give the Lady Whippets one multi-hit batter.
Josie Meggs, AnnaLeigh Jones, Emma Rush and Brooke Mitchell chipped in with singles. Campbell Blaine, Emmagail Kelley, Jones and Rush tallied runs.
Gilmore threw five innings of one-hit ball to lead the Lady Whippets past Kossuth. She fanned nine batters and yielded just one run.
Kosciusko batters scratched out four extra-base hits in the contest. Kelly Hood, K.C. Schuler, Katie Mitchell and Meggs finished with doubles. Meggs and Jones also tallied singles. Meggs, Jones, Blaine, Brooke Mitchell and Kelley each recorded runs.
Mitchell returned to the circle against Thrasher and earned her second win of the day. Her stat line consisted of two strikeouts, two hits and two runs over five innings pitched.
Blaine paced Lady Whippet hitters with a triple and a single. Meggs, Katie Mitchell, Kaitlyn Howell, Jones, Schuler and Rush tallied a single apiece.
Schuler and Meggs each ended with a team-high two runs, while Hood, Jones, Blaine and Alexandra West scored one run apiece.
The Lady Whippets headed to Florence Saturday to complete their two-day road trip.
Jones led the Kosciusko offensive attack with two doubles. Gilmore, Blaine and Rush added doubles of their own, and Blaine and Rush tacked on singles. Jones scored three runs, while Hood gave the Lady Whippets another.
Gilmore went six innings and struck out eight, walked two and surrendered two hits.
Mitchell closed out the weekend with 10 strikeouts over seven innings to lead Kosciusko past Clinton. She yielded five hits.
"The big thing to me was Katie Mitchell and Maddy Gilmore and the pitching," Terry said. "The pitching has been incredible. We knew they were going to be good, but they were lights out this weekend. Basically, they played those five games -- 29 innings in the five games -- and they gave up two runs total. I was impressed with the effort. They're both really tough out there, tough-minded. And that's what you can expect from two seniors who you've won a state championship with -- good leadership skills, and they're just bulldogs."
Gilmore doubled and singled; Jones doubled; Katie Mitchell and Brooke Mitchell singled.
Brooke Mitchell and Hood scored one run apiece.
This week hosts Region 4-4A opponent Louisville on Tuesday, and it travels to Louisville on Thursday. The Lady Whippets welcome Germantown on Friday before ending the week Saturday with a home doubleheader against Florence.
