Kosciusko baseball picked up three wins in four tries last week in early season action, as the Whippets nabbed victories against Greenville, Kirk Academy and West Point while dropping a one-run game against Ridgeland.
“I thought we played OK,” Whippets coach Jonathan Jones said. “The Ridgeland game, they’re a good team and we fought back and got the lead and we gave it up in the seventh. They got a couple of clutch hits, but it was a good test for us.”
Micah Parker not only picked up the pitching win against Greenville last Monday, but he also belted a team-high three RBIs, as his bat provided the perfect complement to his arm in the Kosciusko 9-3 win.
Greenville jumped ahead 3-0 in the top of the first before Brandon Black was walked in and Eldarius Roby scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the inning to make the score 3-2.
Black stole home in the bottom of the third to knot the score at 3, and the Whippets exploded for a four-run fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, Parker tripled to score Walker Hill, Jon Deason and Heath McBride. Roby scored on an error in the frame to extend the Kosciusko lead to 7-3. Chase Morgan doubled in Black to up the Whippets' lead to five runs and Justin Nunn scored on a Greenville fielding error in the bottom of the sixth for Kosciusko's ninth run.
Black paced the Whippets with two hits, and the team combined for nine walks.
Ridgeland used a two-run seventh to scratch out a 6-5 win against Kosciusko on Tuesday.
Kosciusko fell behind 2-0 in the first inning before Parker scored on a fielder's choice groundout by Morgan to cut the Whippets deficit to 2-1.
Ridgeland added another run in the top of the third and the top of the fifth, but Morgan put the Whippets on the board with a sacrifice fly that plated Parker and made the score 4-2.
Will Cook added an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth and Matthew Allen scored on a Ridgeland error in the frame to tie the score at 4. Roby singled in Kaylon Powell to push Kosciusko ahead 5-4.
Roby was 2 of 2 at the plate while Parker went 2-for-3. Morgan had a team-high two RBIs.
Kosciusko earned a 15-1 run-rule-shortened win against Kirk Academy on Friday. Six Whippets crossed home plate in the victory.
“The Kirk Academy game got out of hand pretty quickly,” Jones said. “We had some pitchers step up and throw pretty well.”
Parker, Black, Roby, Morgan, Nunn and Kenwon Riley each tallied two runs. Allen, McBride and Tyler Vancise added one run apiece. Parker was credited with one stolen base.
Vancise earned the pitching win. Vancise combined with Nolen Yuille to throw a two-hitter.
Nunn walked in for the go-ahead run to give Kosciusko a 4-3 win against West Point on Saturday.
Parker scored on a passed ball in the top of the first and Nunn swatted an RBI single to plate Black to put the Whippets ahead 2-0 at the end on the frame.
West Point moved ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the first, but Scott knocked in Roby with a single in the top of the fifth to tie the score at 3.
Kosciusko and West Point each scratched out six hits in the contest. Scott's two hits were a Whippets' team-best. Kosciusko also drew eight walks to West Point's two.
Parker earned the win on the mound behind three strikeouts, one walk and no earned runs.
“Saturday’s game was a really good game,” Jones said. “West Point is a good club, and we split with them last year. We got up early and then got behind in a nip-and-tuck battle until the end. It was a one-run game. A couple of guys threw really well for us, and we had some other guys who had not been swinging as well do better. That was helpful.”
This week, Kosciusko hosts Leake Central (Tuesday) and Starkville (Thursday) before traveling to Leake Central (Friday) and Choctaw Central (Saturday).
“I’m hoping some guys can extend on the hitting and throw some more pitches,” Jones said. “Of course we start district (play) with Leake Central, so that’s a big deal. We need to get those district wins, if possible, and hopefully set up a better seed with the more wins we get, and they’re a tough team.”
