Nobody, including veteran Ethel High School head baseball coach Chris Schuster, thought the thing that would derail the Tigers’ shot at an MSAA Class 1A State Baseball Championship in 2020 was a virus that Mississippians never heard off.
But it was exactly that, in the form of COVID-19, that brought a grinding halt to a promising season for Ethel when school never resumed after spring break and all spring sports were eventually cancelled.
The Tigers were 11-1 at the time and playing very well, according to Schuster.
"We've been very consistent with picking the next man up and finding a way to win ball games," he said at the time. "Our pitching has been a big bonus," Schuster said. "They give us a chance to win every game."
Ethel had a remarkably low team earned run average of 1.37 and the Tigers were hitting at a clip of .346 as a team with six homers, as well as recording 52 stolen bases.
Perhaps the biggest win of the season for the Tigers was a 4-3 thriller over Class 4A Kosciusko that saw Reeves Threadgill pick up the win with a nine-strikeout performance and Tyler Weaver and Tanner Reeves each cracking out two hits for EHS.
Ethel closed out the season with an impressive 3-1 run in the “Battle At The Beach,” which was played over spring break. The Tigers beat Corinth, New Albany and Resurrection during the event.
